Protecting Relationships is Godly Wisdom

Fresh Manna© by Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org

Prov 24:3-6 “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.”

The Bible teaches us that we should not be ignorant of the devils devices. Satan has strategies. One of them is get us mad, upset, and angry at our loved ones – at those closest to us. If he succeeds, we create a valley between and lose the people that might be most naturally bonded to us and who are often there for us in times of need or crisis. Satan has always worked to divide people from each other. Eph 6:12 says it like this: “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies–the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great satanic evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.” Satan is a liar and he is the one that works toward dividing homes, family, friends, and whoever. He doesn’t discriminate.

The devil knows his destiny is Hell and he is determined to take as many people there as possible. Do you think that’s a fairy tale? It’s not. The devil knows he is doomed. He has feared it since the moment he tried to usurp God’s authority in Heaven. That’s why when Jesus walked the earth; the devils and demons were petrified. Let me show you quickly in Mat 8:28-29. “When Jesus arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?'” Can you see that they mentioned an appointed time that they so greatly fear? You see Satan and his followers know there is a day coming. We see this again in Rev 12:12”… But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

As a believer of Jesus Christ, we do not worry about the devil. We take authority over him. Using the name of Jesus, we cast him out of every situation where we see he has reared his ugly head. I am telling you all this not as a lesson in spiritual authority but to help you become aware of his strategies so that when you see them at work, instead of succumbing to them, you’ll ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk in and speak the truth in love! When we can see that the devil is trying to divide us off from people that should be endeared to our hearts, we can stop a potential fight or offense in our heart recognizing that he just wants to divide us all off from each other. If we will quit expecting people to be perfect or what we want them to be and instead appreciate them for who they are, life will be better and greater love will flow. If we look for the good in them, if we will see it and say it and edify them instead of fighting them, we will grow together in love.

Whether communicating with your spouse or your teenager, or a relative or coworker, there can be countless opportunities for even the best of communicators to lose their patience and end up in conflict. Learning how to effectively handle them is more than just technique. The Holy Spirit can help you identify and understand “your irritation buttons.” When you know and are aware of them , He’ll then help you keep control if you seek the Lord at each instance and leaning on the Holy Spirit to teach and strengthen you to try to communicate in the right way. He’ll help you see things from their perspective. He’ll help you have mercy. He’ll even help you confidently speak kindly when someone is treating you like a total jerk – if you will lean on Him in those times. I know this can sound impossible but I promise you it’s not. Eventually you will get better at it. In time with the Lord’s help you can become great at it.

Most every kind of conflict can be resolved amicably when people learn how to speak truth kindly. Unfortunately, what most people do is avoid direct conflict because they are poor at keeping their emotions in check as they talk through it. They just walk away mad from each other. Then they build negative momentum by talking bad about the other person while justifying their position.

People have no idea how their flippant negative words spoken against the very ones they love hurt their own heart. When you do that, in your heart you devalue someone who could really be very precious to you if things were resolved in the right way. Over time, your spoken negative words cause you to lose your emotional love and caring heart. Learning how to work through conflict will help you to stop carrying around unresolved issues and help you quit speaking those negative words you’ll end up regretting.

As today’s Fresh Manna says, people were meant to be rare and beautiful treasures that fill the rooms of our (life) house. We’ve all been tainted by the influences of Satan in this earth and consequently, we have our little (or big) quirks. We must overlook theirs and hopefully they will overlook ours. Then God by His Holy Spirit will work to restore us to paths of kindness, love, and compassion. When we learn to love people through God’s eyes, we learn to love life. We’ll find ourselves surrounded by “many advisers for victory.” Family and close friends can be some of the very best!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org