Doing the Opposite Grace

Have you ever met someone who will do the complete opposite of anything you've suggested, even if it's to their advantage to do your suggestion? Well, I have! Being a somewhat logical person, it's frustrating when I see this happen.

 Then, fortunately for me, Christ quite often gives me Doing the Opposite Grace. After having a brief prayer about this and the person's actions, Christ allows me to pull back and disengage from the whole situation. He allows me to realize that no matter how much I might explain to a person who is doing this, it's never going to make a change in their actions, even when it's to their advantage to do so. 

 It allows me to relax and not take this situation personally, because Christ shows me that it really has nothing to do with me. It's just what this person has to go through and I need to give them the space they need. Once Christ reminds me of all of this, I'm more able to let go of the situation and the feelings it evokes.

Example of a Brief Prayer

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:11

I was with someone who was scooping up some free popcorn. They didn't ask me if I wanted any. The person told me that I should get a bag of popcorn and then took it from my hands. They wanted me to get the popcorn for them to eat later.

It's such a silly thing, but it really did irritate me. Didn't that person think about whether I wanted some or not? Couldn't they have asked me if I wanted some before they took it from my hands? I found myself getting frustrated at that person. Then, it popped into my mind that that's not what Christ wants of me. He wants me to be gracious to those who irritate me, but I was too frustrated to be gracious at that moment.

What I prayed was, "Popcorn Grace," and immediately Christ calmed me down, so that I didn't respond to the person in a less than positive manner. Although the "Popcorn Grace" prayer was very brief, I was asking Christ to please give me grace with this popcorn situation, so I would respond in a gracious manner, and He did! It amazed me that He knew and understood my brief prayer and granted me that grace, so I could be more gracious as an example of how He works in my life! I have continued to use these brief prayers which are changing my life and my response to others. If Christ can do this for me, He can most certainly do it for you, as well. Try it...what can it hurt?