When you can’t beat them, join them? Yes and no. When a difficult person or circumstance does not change, then I need to stop struggling to change him/her/it. When God does not change the difficulty, then perhaps God wants to change me.
Until I learn the lesson God wants me to learn, the difficult person or situation will remain hard. Example, Manila traffic is not going to get better. No matter how I grumble, the traffic is not going to get lighter. So when I can’t beat the bad traffic, I must do something else than fret. I pass the time and do some listening, thinking and writing.
My impatience does not help make the trouble go away. Often, when I cannot change others, then I need to change my attitude.
Until I learn to be humble, God keeps putting me in paths that challenge my pride. To answer calmly and amicably when the other person is not… to keep quiet when the urge to defend is strong… to listen when the urge to be heard is greater… whoa, it is not easy.
So God keeps the lessons coming. He gives me opportunities to practice… to be patient… to be humble… I realized that patience and humility are related to each other. So with waiting and listening. Patience is humble waiting. Humility is patient listening. I am far from perfect but I am taking little steps towards it. By God’s grace as he waits patiently for me to learn… By Jesus’ example as he is humble and meek.
Lord, help me today, to be humbly patient and patiently humble.