There are moments in life that have the propensity to either bring out the best in a person or the very worst in a person.
One of the "revealers" in life and in ministry is stress. Dealing with stress can either reveal the junk in a person's heart or the precious jewels of rare and lasting value that are part of a person's emotional and spiritual make-up.
When stress enters one's personal world, the initial reaction is extremely telling. Stress either cultivates a bumper crop of the fruits of the Holy Spirit or it digs up emotions and imperfections of the most human kind.
When confronted with intense and unexpected stress, often we are guilty of saying things that, under normal conditions would never pass through our lips. Stress has the ability to stir up and reveal what is truly in one's heart. Stress hides nothing and reveals everything.
Another opportunity that often reveals the true deposit of a person's heart is when one is confronted with a difficult person. Difficult, fractious people can either stir up the flames of anger and frustration or they give us the opportunity to reveal our Christ-like nature.
Difficult people unmask the veracity of the value of one's heart. It is humanly impossible to "pretend" or to "act" when a troublesome or taxing person is part and parcel of one's daily routine. It is possible to win an Academy Award for a short-term acting stint when dealing with a disturbing person. However, if the challenging person remains as a consistent part of one's life, what is "real" comes bubbling to the surface.
"I don't know where that came from," may be one's initial response after spewing verbal venom on a difficult person or after erupting in reaction to unexpected stress. But the truth is, it came from your heart. It came from the repository of one's own making due to the daily habits of life.
So how do we prepare for irksome people and for seasons of strain and tension? We prepare by being faithful to the call of God and to the disciplines of the Holy Spirit. The cry of our heart becomes the cry that John the Baptist uttered thousands of years ago: "He must increase, but I must decrease."
In order to prepare for people and for events that are beyond our control or desire, we must submit and commit ourselves to times of prayer, to reading the Word of God and to a consistent lifestyle of personal and exciting worship.
Prayer actually does sustain us when life has turned into a wild ride of people bumps and circumstantial curves.
The Bible truly does strengthen us when everything else weakens our resolve.
The discipline of worship has the miraculous capacity to turn an ordinary person into a mirror that reflects the nature and character of God.
Rather than choosing to allow challenging people or problematic events to determine the person that you are, allow the Holy Spirit to bring out the Jesus in you when life is hard and when people are cruel! That, my friend, is who you were made to be! 
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman's Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol's "A Jolt of Joy" program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at justjoyministries.com.
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