Dealing with Difficult People?

There are no problems like people problems, are there?

Linus, defending himself against Lucy, said it well when he said, “I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand!”

It’s similar in nature to the thoughts of David in Psalm 57. Having run from Saul and hiding in a literal cave, he bears his heart. It sounds much like any one of us when we deal with the realities of people:

“I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” (Psalms 57:4)

“They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.” (Psalms 57:6)

But the most incredible statement to me is what David is able to say in the midst of all this:

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”

(Psalms 57:7-11)

4 reminders when human faces put you in tough places:

1. To be steadied in the cave is God’s doing, not ours - A quick scan of the first 5 verses of the Psalm is a reminder that we do not seek steadiness, hoping that God will give it. We seek God, and the result is a steady heart.

2. To dwell among lions (verse 4) doesn’t mean you have to roar back at them - Don’t forget you are accompanied there by the lion of the tribe of Judah, and in him you have all you need.

3. Our caves can reach more people than our mountaintops - I get as much enjoyment from the mountaintop as anyone. But there’s a space issue. If you’ve journeyed to the top of a mountain, you’ve likely noticed limited room. But head to Glenwood Caverns sometime, and you’re invited into a space in the caves there that can fit hundreds of people.

4. God’s glory isn’t nullified by the cave…it’s amplified - I don’t know much about the acoustics of caves, but I’ve been on a few cave tours that have shown me you can yell out and get two valuable things: echoes and amplification. Even in the darkness and the cold of a cave, God uses the proclamation of his glory to declare that He is Lord to the rest of the world.

Recently I’ve had the realization of just how inexperienced I am in the praise of God. No, not in a judgmental way. More like an invitation. An invitation to give glory in the places mine is nowhere to be found, so that I may see Him more clearly, experience Him more abundantly.

Have people pursued you into a cave?

Fear not. Speak of God’s glory where people and places have taken yours, and watch even that cave become God’s megaphone.

Nathan