19-A-Step-Of-Faith-Enduring-Difficult-People

This Bible study episode discusses the challenges of dealing with difficult people when taking a step of faith. It highlights various types of difficult people, such as those who oppose, discourage, or distract us. The episode provides biblical verses and examples to encourage endurance and offers scenarios for listeners to share their advice on how to handle opposition, unfavorable cultures or policies, discouraging team members, lazy people, and those who don't complete their assignments. Listeners are invited to send their contributions via WhatsApp, voice notes, text messages, or email. The episode concludes with a prayer and a website recommendation for further resources. Hello and welcome to join this chariot for a five-minute Bible study. This 19th episode on A Step of Faith is titled Enduring Difficult People Part 1. My name is Greg Alabi and I'm inviting you to come let us study the Bible together. We all need all the contributions, the encouragement, and the support that we can get when we want to take a step of faith to achieve anything significant. We do not need difficult people to oppose, slow down, stop, or distract us. Things become more complicated if such people have the power, the position, the time, the resources, and the connection to cause setback or stop us. They would refuse any truth. They just do not want to see you move forward. It is equally challenging if the difficult person or people are members of your own team, those who are not very easy to get along with, or lazy people, slackers. Another group of difficult people are those described in Proverbs chapter 26 verse 13 who will tell you that there is a lion on the road. No matter which road you decide to travel, no matter which option you take, all they see are the disadvantages, the problems, the dangers, and the risks. They offer no solution. After feeding you with doubts and fear, they leave you to decide to proceed or not to proceed. Another group of difficult people to work with are those who almost always fall short of their target, never accomplishing their tasks, but expect full reward. The lazy ones cause a setback. They show up late, play around instead of working, they leave early or right at the exact closing time but want full reward. Dear friends, any of these people could be difficult to work with. Question then is, how should we manage or endure difficult people? For starters, may I encourage you with these Bible verses. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 9 says, there is nothing new under the sun. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 says, there is no temptation taken in you but such that is common to man. The Good News Bible puts it this way. Every test you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people, the lesson several others have gone through or are currently going through similar experiences. For example, Genesis chapter 26, when Isaac stepped out to dig wells of water, he was strongly opposed by the king and the people. That was enough reason to quit. In Exodus chapter 32, Moses was away to the mountaintop to receive the Ten Commandments. He delegated leadership to his own elder brother Aaron. Unfortunately, Aaron digressed and built the Golden Calf, an idol for the people to worship. That was a typical example of your associates running his own agenda under your authority. When Jesus was to go to the cross and Paul to Jerusalem, very close associates tried to discourage them. That's an example of people who see a lion on the road. They see the problem but offer no godly solution, nor do they see the reward ahead. Dear friends, the next episode will be a bit different. We invite as many listeners to participate. Send us your contributions and your advice to these four different scenarios. The question for discussion is, when we want to take a step of faith to accomplish something significant and we are faced with these situations, what should we do? What is your advice? First scenario, when faced with oppositions and confrontation, what should we do? Second scenario, when the culture, the tradition and the policies are not favorable, what should we do? Third scenario, when one or more members of your team always have discouraging ideas that cause setback but offer no solution, what's your advice? Fourth scenario, when working with lazy people who show up late, play around, leave early but want equal reward, what should we do? What's your advice? Fifth scenario, when you work with people who do not complete their assignments but want equal reward, what should we do? What is your advice? Kindly send us your answers and your advice to any of these forum or methods, WhatsApp, voice notes, text messages or email. In order to maintain our five minutes duration, please make your contributions just three minutes or in multiples of three minutes each for us to review in subsequent episodes. We look forward to hearing from you. Please tell us your name and the city where you are calling from. That would be a great idea. Let us pray. Father, thank you because we believe you want to teach us on how to manage this situation enduring difficult people. Give us the wisdom to manage them. They are your children but we want to know what to do. In Jesus name, Amen. Please visit our website gregalaby.com. Look for the podcast, listen to previous and current messages there. Send us your contributions. God bless you.