Confronting Difficult People in Your Life

Am reading a great book called, Setting Boundaries with Difficult People by Allison Bottke, published by Harvest House Publishers. I wanted to share some things from her book that touch my heart, as maybe they will touch your heart, too. I will do this for my next few blog posts as I read through the book.

On pgs. 23-24, she mentions some notes she took from her preacher that were really meaningful.

"When opportunity knocks, we need to have courage to overcome fear. There's a difference between understanding what you should do and choosing to do it. The tipping point takes us from knowing what we ought to do to making the decision to act."

"God will direct our paths, but He won't take the step for us. Some of us will stop on the journey. It's not just knowing - it's going. Often, there is a gap in the middle between knowing and going."

"Life is a parade of "now" moments, not a series of tomorrows. No future moment is more significant than now."

Is this your "now" moment? She goes on to talk about the importance of confronting difficult people, or issues in your life, or moving on and letting it go. It takes courage to walk through doors to freedom. Yes, identifying what those doors are is an important step, but then walking through the door is the courageous act that will set you free to solve problems and have peace and joy.

She mentions a book called, A Woman's Passionate Pursuit of God by Karol Ladd. She talks about how the author commented on the book of Philippians, and how the Apostle Paul wrote of his resilient joy, consistent contentment, and a peace that passes all understanding while being beaten and imprisoned in a dungeon for doing what was right. She quotes this:

"Have you ever thought you were following God's guidance or leading and found yourself in a real mess of a situation? It can tend to make you want to doubt God and question His work in your life. Did I really follow God's direction? Does He really care about my situation? Why should God allow this to happen to me if I am following His will? The questions are valid, but we will soon see that God often allows the difficulties in our lives for a greater purpose. He will not leave us in the midst of our troubles. The important thing is to learn to react to our situations and challenges with faith and not fear."

Here are some questions to ask yourself, as a challenge:

"Who are the difficult people in your life? With whom are you hesitant to set healthy boundaries?"
"What keeps you from setting those boundaries?"
"Which growth action - standing up or moving on - are you willing to take with the difficult people in your life so that you are no longer stuck in neutral?"