How should you face conflict?
When God calls you to follow him, he does not call you to a life of ease. Life on earth involves many battles, in all of which God promises you victory through Jesus Christ. There is never going to be a moment in your earthly life when everything is perfect. There are always going to be challenges, difficulties and problems to solve.
The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in ‘moments of convenience’, but where they stand in ‘moments of challenge, moments of great crisis and controversy’.
Avoid unnecessarily quarreling. One of the most draining experiences of life is quarrelling – whether in a marriage, among friends, with colleagues or in the church. Here we see that one of the causes of quarrels can be pride. If you are willing to admit your mistakes and wrongs with humility, you can avoid a lot of quarrels.
Sometimes, when conflict comes in our lives, we only have ourselves to blame. However, this is not necessarily always the case. There is nothing more painful than when an attack comes from a friend or colleague.
This was a terrible moment in the life of Jesus. His friend and disciple Judas, with whom he had spent three years,betryaed Him Jesus’ dignified response is exemplary. He stayed calm, refused violence and exercised extraordinary self-restraint. The reality is that Jesus is in full control of the situation. He knew all that was going to happen to him’.
David had a reputation for loyalty and was highly respected. David and Jonathan were utterly loyal to each other.Jonathan’s attitude to David was extraordinary: ‘You shall be king over Israel, and I will be second to you’.They were utterly committed to each other: ‘The two of them made a covenant before the Lord’.
David had learnt at this stage of his life the vital importance of enquiring of the Lord before making decisions. When he was under attack again and again ‘David went in prayer to God’ . In this way, attacks can actually draw us closer to God.
There is nothing that helps more in times of conflict than the loyalty of our friends and family. They can help you in difficult times and when they are under attack, you can help them by your loyalty and support to find strength in God.
