Series: Stressed Week 5: Dealing with People
HOW DO I FIND GOD’S PEACE in MY RELATIONSHIPS?
2 Key Realities When It Comes to Relationships:
- THERE ARE TIMES in RELATIONSHIPS WE NEED to CHANGE. God wants to do things in us—shape us and grow us in certain ways—that can be accomplished only through others. So, begin by asking, What does God want to do in me?
EPHESIANS 4:25-32. Ephesians 4:17. Christ living in us & through us should transform us from the inside out.
5 Questions to ask if you’re experiencing stress in your relationships:
- AM I BEING HONEST IN THIS RELATIONSHIP? Ephesians 4:25
- AM I HARBORING ANGER ABOUT the PAST? EPHESIANS 4:26-27.
- AM I FOCUSED on WHAT I CAN GET or WHAT I CAN GIVE? EPHESIANS 4:28.
- AM I LOOKING for OPPORTUNITES to SHOW GRACE? EPHESIANS 4:29.
Paul communicates 3 things:
1) What we say matters. PROVERBS 18:21.
2) When we say what we say is also important.
3) How we say what we say when we say it is very important.
- AM I DEALING with THIS RELATIONSHIP in MY OWN STRENGTH? EPHESIANS 4:30-32.
2. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN a RELATIONSHIP NEEDS to CHANGE ROMANS 12:18.
3 STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO CHANGE A RELATIONSHIP THAT’S CAUSING STRESS:
- STEP UP. Biblical confrontation is always rooted in peace.
- STEP BACK. Establish boundaries for the relationship in order to prevent stressors from piling up.
- STEP AWAY. Removing a relationship from your life doesn’t mean writing that person off completely. It doesn’t mean erasing them from your memory or your thoughts—or especially your prayers. Leave room for God to do a work of transformation in the other person’s life.
Always remember that going through the process of dealing with stress in a relationship isn’t so you can have an easier life or avoid being bothered. Rather, it’s so you can be filled to an even greater level with the peace of God.
