Lessons from my workplace: Dealing with difficult situations

There are many reactions people would have when the time for them to leave the national service comes. Some would feel excited or relieved that the two years have finally passed. Others would feel strange or empty, as if suddenly a huge part of their lives had left them. Some others liken their ORD date to a prison release, experiencing freedom after a long while.To me, my departure date isn’t really different. I do feel excited, a little strange and also liberated. But more so, I feel thankful. I am really thankful that I have walked out of the army feeling a change in me. I am so grateful to God that this 2 years had not been wasted at all. I thank God that I have been put into his very own schoolroom of life’s situations to be moulded, taught and formed not just into a better person, but a new man.

Frankly speaking, my army life isn’t as sweet and comfortable like how others thought mine would turn out to be. Although I have been relieved from combat duties to a relatively peaceful and easy camp, I could say life had been worst since I transferred. But nevertheless, I have to be thankful to God that I could see my family everyday after work and need not stay in camp.

I have been through quite a number of difficult situations that clearly pushed me to my very limits. Many a time, I do think that I am “jinxed” in the sense that I would get punished for every single small detail done wrong when others could definitely get away with it. I was thinking really hard whether I truly was so unlucky to face so many troubles in my army life and yet deep down inside, I knew that I really didn’t do things very wrong.

In fact, I thought of boasting many times to others that I am the most capable in my workplace. I hold 3 appointments. I have been working in many different departments. I do almost every right. Moreover, I am so humble. I do not complain or even boast to anyone the tasks I have accomplished to gain recongition by my superiors. Who else could be better than me.

But God did not just want me to be that way. He knew what I was doing wasn’t enough to please him.

Doing my very best and not complaining was enough for me to feel good about myself, but I thank God that he wanted more than that to please him.

Looking back, I am beginning to realise that my army life is truly in God’s hands. I denied this at first. I thought I was just simply reaping what I have sowed. Yes, this was true, but yet God gave me even more than I deserved in my punishment so that he could teach me his lessons.

Repeatedly, I was thrown into difficult situations, situations in which I was pushed to my brim until the point when I told God, “It’s enough! I give up!” Then, I begin to see how God worked and how he rescued me from these situations, how he broke me through and through to demonstrate how he would have mercy upon me.

One major one came last year when a conflict arose between me and the other colleagues. I was preyed upon quite easily due to my silent nature. They capitalised on the mistakes that I made to put me into bad books with my superiors. I could remember how much distress and anguish it costs me, how bitter I became and how I thought of evil but legitimate thoughts to snap back at them. Nevertheless, I failed miserably and I was angry with God.

I told God how righteous I was and how evil those guys were. And God taught me from Psalms. At that point of time I could really identify with the Psalmist’s situation. Particularly Psalms 3:

Ps 3:1 - O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”

Ps 3:7.8 - Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

I wanted God to deliver me from my foes just as he had delivered the Psalms. So, I began my retaliation to get even with them. Thankfully I failed miserably because that wasn’t what God wants. He taught me Romans 12:17-19:

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay…”

I failed because I was taking my own revenge on my enemies. I wasn’t letting God do the work. I trapped myself in another sticky situation in which things became far worse than before. Thankfully, God was gracious. He answered my prayers in another manner.

I asked for harm on my foes, he gave them grace. I asked for conflicts upon them, he gave them peace.

Thank God because his ways are higher than my ways. I realised that as God had given me grace and peace, he also could give it to those who harmed me.

This situation was resolved in a peaceful manner. We came down to talking terms to end the entire hostility that we had against each other and it remained that way till all these guys left the service some time ago.

Romans 9:15 - “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

I really marvels me how God could work in this situation. He nevertheless repays evil with good and has mercy and compassionate on the wicked. How could I not be merciful and compassionate to my foes, when even God has mercy and compassion on them?

Romans 9:20a - “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?”

Who am I to argue against what God does? He has absolute and sovereign control over how he causes situations to turn out in my life. And I thank him that he has done just that for me.