ok……what?
This is exactly what I was thinking this morning when I was listening to Kelly K Ministries on his morning Tik Tok bible study, 8 am Mountain Time.
I so encourage you to seek him out, he is amazing
Have you ever had a person in your life that rubs you the wrong way?
Every time you show up and they are there, and you think ” oh great, here we go again.”
Every word they say makes you grit your teeth. Ever step they take makes you want to take a step away.
We are all thinking of that person right now, yup I know one.
What if I told you that God puts these people in your life for a reason?
Not only do they serve a purpose, but they are actually a gift for God to you
God put them in your life for purpose…… for a purpose.
What exactly are “sandpaper people”?
Sandpaper is a tool that is designed to smooth and refine surfaces. It is a sheet or a strip of abrasive paper that has particles of sand or other hard substances glued to it. Sandpaper comes in different grades, from course to fine depending on the size and density of the abrasive particles. Sandpaper is used in various applications to remove roughness, rust or old paint and prepares surfaces for painting, staining or polishing
The bible also speaks of a refining process that God uses to shape and transform his people
Isaiah 48:10 says, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Definition of Affliction:
Affliction refers to a state of pain, distress, or grief. It is often used to describe suffering caused by illness, misfortune, or hardship. Affliction encompasses both physical and mental suffering, highlighting the difficulties and challenges that can significantly impact an individual’s life.
Here’s what we need to know as sandpaper people
God uses rough situations and rough people to smooth out “OUR” character
just as sandpaper rubs against a surface to remove roughness and imperfections.
God allows us to go though difficult and trying circumstances with difficult people
to expose “OUR” flaws and refine “OUR” character.
When we face challenges, we have a choice to either resist and complain or to trust and learn.
When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow.
for when your endurance is fully developed, your will be perfect and complete needing nothing.
This isn’t going to happen until Jesus comes back but we need to keep going and keep building until the day he returns.
God is using Hatefully Harry and Grumpy Gus to actually develop you into perfection.
These people are a gift to make us more like Jesus.
God says to consider these people a joy.
It’s all about changing your mindset.
God uses different grades of sandpaper to achieve different levels of refinement, just as sandpaper comes in various grids from course to fine depending on the level of smoothing required.
God uses different levels of testing and trials to refine us according to his purpose.
Some sandpaper people may be minor irritations while others may be major crisis that shake us to our core, however in all cases, God knows what we need and his ultimate goal is for you to become more like Jesus Christ.
So many times we get mad about the situations and the people that are in our lives and we try to wish them away and pray ourselves out of these situation but understand, if you were to get away from that person or that situation before God has developed your character, the only thing that is going to happen is that the next place you are going to go, you’re going to run into another person just like them.
Your going to run into another situation just like it.
why?
Because God was not done testing you.
God was not done refining you
God was not done building you
God is not done working to strengthen your endurance.
It has nothing to do with Hatefully Harry or Grumpy Gus,
It has to do with you and the testing in you
Roman 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
Those people are there for a reason and if we start to see it like that,
we need to ask God…. “what do I need to learn for this, show me what I need”,
The sooner we understand this so God can develop us, the sooner we can get out of this situation.
God will either remove that person, remove you or even redeem that relationship and actually be a relationship that you can enjoy and that is a blessing to you
Look at it as God preparing you and elevating you and you’re not going through this for nothing.
People can be in the same struggle for years as it’s because they never get the mindset that God is trying to build you, challenge you, grow you ………… let him make that growth.
Don’t stay in the same storm, you don’t have to
if is not a blessing now, it will be a blessing later, if you just wait and let God finish the process.
Join me on my journey paved by God’s guidance – I invite you to join me and find inspiration in the remarkable ways God moves in our lives (echosofmyfootsteps.com)
