Thick skin

     I have been trying to live a "Christian lifestyle" for eighteen years and one thing that I have learned and actually am still learning is not to be easily offended.  I am truly blessed to have met a godly man who encourages my walk with my Heavenly Father and who often shares the same passion of ministries.  In our years of service we have encountered the "nightmares" of ministry.  This includes discouraging and negative comments, actions from others opposite of our intentions and even the feeling of those going behind our backs. 
      I write all this not to be discouraging but to remind there this is nothing new to God.  Anything that happens now has happened before.  The scripture states in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "and there is nothing new under the sun."  What we have gone through in the past has already happened before.  This was not a new experience; it was new to us!  As I was battling my hurt and bitterness, my husband came across a great sermon by John Piper.  This was divine intervention and felt like the sermon was meant just for us.
     God has written great examples of other  men who have experienced what we have.  Look at writings of Paul.  Paul experienced much while on Earth and still kept his faith and his sight on furthering the gospel. In fact he was abandoned by his fellow believers in his time of great need.  In 2 Timothy starting at verse 9 Paul was at trial in the courts and no one stood by him.  How awful that must have been for Paul!  At least Tom and I had each other in all the different experiences and could share our burdens.  It would have been extremely difficult to handle without a fellow believer by my side.  Paul does not get offended by by being deserted.  He does the exact opposite; he forgives them!  Amazing to read and incomprehensible to us average humans, I would not have had the same reaction.  Paul's sight is clearly on Jesus and his writings reflect that.  This was a huge wake up call for me.  If a man who was going through far more trials in life than I can forgive other believers for abandoning him, then why can I not do the same?  Now don't get me wrong this was not a fix in the snap of a finger!  It does take time for emotions and thought processes to work themselves out and much prayer.  I kept reminding myself of Paul as I worked through the process of forgiveness. 
      I had to remind myself that what I took as offense may not have been meant for offense.  Paul conveys in other writings that other believers did not always agree on the same method, but they did agree on furthering the gospel.  It is important to take a step back and look to see if the actions of others is meant to further the gospel.  I needed to have a different perspective.  Instead of me thinking I was the victim and these people did this to me, I needed to look and see what the intentions of the others was.  This would be sure to prove that others were not out to offend they were merely taking action on where they felt called.  More prayer and conversing with God was what got us through our time of healing.
     Offense will happen again.  It is a guarantee while we are here on Earth.  It will be my choice in how I react to these offenses that will make all the difference.  I need to develop a "thick skin" with the help of my Father and by reading His word.