Face Conflict with Encouragement from God - Part 3

Internal conflict is analogous to arguing with oneself. A college sophomore related that he had fallen in love with a woman he met in one of his classes. After a two-year courtship, he felt uneasy about continuing the relationship. He loved her, but something was wrong. Sensing his ambivalence, she asked him to think about his commitment to her.

Fearing he would hurt her feelings he denied his misgivings and assured her everything was OK. The internal struggle between what he thought and felt and his inability to be honest, put the relationship in jeopardy. He felt guilty about causing her to feel rejected, but she sensed his uncertainty, which made it impossible to trust him fully.

Internal conflicts are difficult to discuss, but is essential to honesty. It’s encouraging to realize God provides special moments for being honest about troubling thoughts and feelings. Although it takes maximum courage to overcome the fear of being honest, honesty can save a relationship while providing peace that only God can provide.  

Facing Tough Realities: Pressing On - Part 2

Some realities of life seem impossible to accept. A common response is to deny their existence. Dealing constructively with reality requires admitting all is not well. A popular song put it this way, "I never promised you a rose garden." God does not promise us a life absent of problems and harsh realities.

However, believing life is manageable with God's help opens the door for healthy change. Power struggles most often center around denial of reality. For example, striving with others to change their behavior or personality creates an attitude of hopelessness. Only Christ Jesus can change a person, but he will do so only with their consent and submission.

Ask yourself, "What do I need to see and hear to make sure I'm facing God's crucial realities for my life?" Dealing constructively with whatever those realities happen to be and asking God to empower you to change are choices you can make. Permitting God to speak to you through his word and by spending time in prayer are reliable sources for help.  

Choosing Persons or Power: It's Up to You - Part 2

Over time a couple may lose the closeness that initially bonded them together. The cares of life may cause a couple to lose interest and emotionally drift apart, causing a crisis to evolve in the marriage. The first thing a husband or wife may try to do is to restore sexual intimacy, only to witness a rise in anger and more distance.

Sex is frequently at the center of power struggles when it's used as a tool for exerting control or punishment. When sex is expressed as God intended, a couple feels deeply connected at the core of their being. Otherwise, sex is just sex. Where there is indisputable unity, the bond that holds a couple together is consistently strengthened.

Choosing to permit God's love to be anchored in the core of your being transforms power struggles into mutual submissiveness accompanied by a sincere motive to please each other. God's business is transforming attitudes and hearts so unity and bonding can be strengthened. Would you permit God to make this transformation in you?

The Power of Patience: Taming the Temper - Part 3

The family is the most prized possession of a nation, for it provides a stabilizing force that's sustained by love, trust, and respect. Family members create a system of rules and boundaries for the distribution power and authority. Fair and healthy distribution of power provides contentment to the family unit. Successful management of power minimizes conflict.

Striving for power is a contributing factor to a family's demise. Power struggles come in many forms and often are observed at family gatherings. Jacob and Esau represent a classic struggle between siblings striving for power. Jacob outwits Esau for his birthright. Then Jacob and his mother conspire against Esau for their father's blessing.

Couples struggle for power by using money, sex, and children. Finding the appropriate balance of power, as intended by God, keeps a family healthy and together. God intended for family members to be subject to one another out of respect, love, and trust. Choosing God's way is the pathway to peace, joy, and blessings.