Hard Conversations

2 Corinthians 6:7

We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

We need God and His power when it comes to conversations that need to be had. With Him guiding us we can be clear and understandable. We can also have grace and mercy and also get His perspective on where the other person is coming from. In order to speak from truth we need to come in truth and that is through God.

Hard conversations… we all have them. How do you go about them? Do you just stay as surface as possible? Do you walk the line of truthfulness and openness? Or do you jump right in and go for it?

For me, I think it depends on the situation and who I am talking to. I’ve had many conversations where I thought, 'Nope, I’m not getting into that right now or not at all.' I’ve even entered conversations thinking that I’m not going to talk with that person about certain things, but then I feel prompted by God to do so.

That is nerve-racking… I had a recent conversation like that. I had no expectation of saying anything, and, in fact, I spoke truthfully but didn’t cross that religious line because that is not a subject I usually discuss with this person, for no other reason than I know their stance. But the time came, and I asked them if I could talk with them a bit about their situation and what I think from my Christ-following perspective… They agreed.

Speaking the truth can be hard, but it is necessary from time to time to lay it all out there, no matter what the other person thinks. When we finished the conversation, we went our separate ways, but I felt peace because I took the opportunity God gave me and jumped… What happens from there is in God’s hands. But the truth was spoken.

Ephesians 4:15 - Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

When we come into any conversation with love we can more easily come with truth. We want to be able to convey what we mean clearly and through love we can do that. Emotions can be involved but they shouldn't be the driving force. We have had those conversations though and sometimes the end well and sometimes they don't.

Personally, I am going to do my best to go into every conversation with God leading the way. I need Him to guide my thoughts and words. I want to hear and understand what the other person is saying before I think about or giving an answer. I want to be slow to speak and listen with intention in order to speak in truth, grace and mercy.