Good morning everyone,

Luke 20:42-43-For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
"’The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies your footstool.’

Romans 8:28-And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

One of the most encouraging things to meditate on at times we feel overwhelmed with frustrations from people or situations is God being sovereign (or in control) over ALL things. It’s a struggle to think about God’s sovereignty being good when we are in a stressful relationship with people. Whether that is with someone we love deeply like family or with people we know, yet still cause us stress like co-workers. I believe we don’t think of God doing something for our good at the time of the stress because we rightly desire peace in relationships.

Yet because of sin, things are not as smooth as we wish they were with people. It is very difficult to think of good when you are disturbed by stress from that individual. Yet God desires us not to simply think of "good thoughts" because that has limits, but Himself! Considering Jesus Christ is to reflect on what happened to Him in His relationship with the world, His disciples, and with the Father. To be crucified at the end of His life is not something we would think of as good, yet He and the Father did because of what was to come from it!

It takes spiritual maturity to not dwell negatively on the frustrations that relationships can cause. Because the natural tendency to dwell on the relationship is a 100% negative while we’re frustrated! That is why worshipping another person is so self-destructive. Yet if we are truly living for God’s glory we would consider what He is doing in and through ourselves when we want to sulk in negativity. God can and does use people, even those we love to be an "enemy" for the sake of helping us reach up to Him. Since no one is sinless but Jesus, we are very susceptible to being a "enemy" of Christ in our relationships. Yet God can use that tension to be a means of growth for us to be more like Christ, for our good and the good of others.

In His Love, Ld