DIFFICULT PEOPLE ARE YOUR TRAINING GROUND

Romans chapter 12










Today we are walking in: Difficult People Are Your Training Ground












Genesis 23:11




Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people H5971 give I it thee: bury thy dead.






















MY PEOPLE







Today we look to the word-MY PEOPLE- H5971 'am--nation, people persons, members of one's people, compatriots, country-men kinsman, kindred















The Torah testifies...............




Exodus 3:10




Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people H5971 the children of Israel out of Egypt.





















The prophets proclaim..................




2 Samuel 7:10




Moreover I will appoint a place for my people H5971 Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,





















The writings bear witness...........................



Ruth 1:16




And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people H5971 shall be my people, H5971 and thy God my God:



















We have completed the Method style of study this morning reviewing, (MY PEOPLE) we recognize the standard set in the Torah and 613 principles, then we search the witnesses in the books of the Prophets (Nevi’im), and the books of the Writings (Ketuvim) collectively the Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim are identified as the TANAKH which is the Old Testament’s proper title, and is the only book Yahusha studied & referenced throughout the New Testament.












DIFFICULT PEOPLE ARE YOUR TRAINING GROUND







Now listen to me carefully. Have you ever walked into a room feeling whole, feeling calm, feeling joyful, and then one person walks in and your atmosphere changes? You were fine until they showed up. You were at shalom until they spoke. You were steady until they touched that nerve. And you thought to yourself, Yahuah, why is this person in my life?




Let me tell you something. Some of the greatest lessons Elohim will ever teach you will not come through a book. They will come through a person. Because life is not a playground. Life is a training ground for purpose. And if you are going to fulfill destiny, you must understand that Elohim is more committed to your development than He is to your comfort. Difficult people are not an interruption of your life. They are often an instrument in the hands of a sovereign Elohim.




The Scripture says in Romiyim 8:28 that Elohim works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. All things includes all people, including the ones who annoy you, including the ones who oppose you, including the ones you wish would move to another planet. If you are called, then nothing around you is random. If you are chosen, then even your opposition has an assignment.




So I want you to write this down somewhere in your spirit: what you call trouble, Elohim often calls training. You keep praying, “Yahuah, remove them,” and Elohim says, “No, I sent them.” Because you are asking for a peaceful environment and Elohim is trying to produce a peaceful person. You are asking for an easy path and Elohim is building an unshakable character.




The Scripture says in Ya‛aqov chapter 1 that trials test your faith and produce endurance. So stop being surprised by what Elohim uses to mature you. And the book of Mishlei reminds us that a person who rules their own spirit is greater than one who conquers a city. In other words, the greatest warfare is not external, it is internal. The greatest victory is not over people, it is over your reactions to people.




Now here is the danger. If you don’t understand why difficult people are present, you will misinterpret their purpose. And when you misinterpret their purpose, you will take their behavior personally. And when you take things personally, you lose power. Because the adversary doesn’t need to destroy you if he can distract you. He doesn’t need to break your destiny if he can keep you emotionally bleeding every time somebody provokes you.




So hear me. The person who can control your emotions can control your life. That is why this teaching is not about managing them, it is about mastering you. You cannot control what they do, but you are responsible before Elohim for what you do. Yahusha taught that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, which means your reaction is announcing what is inside you.




So today we are not here to learn cute sayings. We are here to learn Kingdom government. We are here to discover why Elohim allows certain people to rub against you, press against you, even provoke you. Because gold is not purified in comfort, it is purified in fire. Diamonds are not formed in convenience, they are formed under pressure. And leaders are not produced in isolation, they are produced in adversity.




Moshe did not become Moshe in Pharaoh’s palace. Moshe became Moshe in the wilderness under frustration, under conflict, under divine training. Dawid did not learn to lead only by watching sheep. Dawid learned to lead when Sha’ul became an enemy and Golyath became a test. So don’t tell me you want greatness if you can’t handle pressure people. Elohim will always send you people that expose you before He sends you platforms that elevate you.




I want you to settle this in your mind right now. Difficult people are not necessarily your enemies. They may be your educators. Elohim is using them to reveal what is left in you that cannot go with you into the next season. Because the next level of your assignment demands the next level of your character. And character is not built by what you say you believe, character is built by how you behave when belief is tested.




The Scripture in Kepha Ri’shon says don’t be shocked by the fiery trial as though something strange is happening to you. In other words, stop acting surprised that life is training you. So here is our journey. We are going to redefine difficult people. We are going to uncover what they are producing in your life. And we are going to teach you how to respond as a citizen of the Kingdom, not as a slave to your feelings.




And by the time we are finished, you will not be asking only, “Yahuah, why are they like this?” You will be asking the Kingdom question, “Father, what are You trying to produce in me through this?” Because when you shift from complaint to comprehension, you move from being a victim to being victorious.




Now let’s go deeper. Because if you don’t get this part, you will misread your whole life. Most people interpret opposition as obstruction. They interpret conflict as confusion. They interpret difficult people as punishment. But in the Kingdom of Elohim, opposition is not an obstacle, opposition is a classroom. The problem with many believers is that we keep asking Elohim to take us out of school when Elohim is trying to graduate us into purpose.




You want the certificate but you don’t want the curriculum. You want the crown but you don’t want the process. But I came to tell you today, you cannot bypass development and still claim destiny. A difficult person is not necessarily a sign that Elohim has left you. They may be a sign that Elohim is growing you.




The Scripture in Yeshayahu 48:10 declares, “I have refined you in the furnace of affliction.” The furnace is not the adversary’s idea, sometimes it is Elohim’s design. And the furnace is not to destroy you, the furnace is to remove what cannot survive your next season.




Elohim could have taken Yisra’el straight to the promised land in eleven days, but He put them in the wilderness for forty years. Why? Because geography was not their problem, their mentality was. Elohim was not trying to change their location, He was trying to change their nature. They came out of Mitsrayim physically, but Mitsrayim was still inside them emotionally.




So Elohim used pressure to perform surgery on their character. And the wilderness wasn’t just sand and heat, it was people—complaining people, rebellious people, fearful people, stiff-necked people. Moshe didn’t only lead Yisra’el, Moshe had to survive Yisra’el. Elohim trained Moshe through the very people who irritated him.




Sometimes your biggest training is not the task, it’s the people attached to the task. And that’s why some of you are frustrated. You keep saying, “Yahuah, I love the calling, but I hate the people.” But Elohim never gives you a calling without people. Because calling is for service. Calling is for influence. Calling is for impact. So if you can’t manage people, you can’t manage purpose.




Your assignment is always connected to other humans, and humans come with friction. So Elohim uses friction to build your capacity. Let me say it another way. Pressure is not your enemy, pressure is your proof. You don’t discover who you are in comfort, you discover who you are when somebody provokes you and you still stay governed.




The Scripture in Luqas 4 says Yahusha was led by the Ruach into the wilderness to be tested. Led by the Ruach into trouble, yes, because the wilderness reveals whether you are ready for public destiny. And after He overcame in private pressure, the Scripture says He returned in the power of the Ruach. Power follows passing tests. If you want power without tests, you are asking for an illegal promotion.




In the Kingdom, Elohim is not primarily concerned with your happiness. He is concerned with your set-apartness and your usefulness. Happiness is based on happenings, but character is based on convictions. And Elohim builds convictions through confrontation.




That’s why Dawid said in Tehillim 119:71, “It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.” Dawid said thank You for the pressure because it taught me. Some of you need to stop rebuking the training and start extracting the lesson.




So when the difficult person shows up, you have two choices. You can see them as a headache or you can see them as a head trainer. You can say, “Yahuah, remove them,” or you can say, “Yahuah, teach me through them.” Because every time you overreact, you fail a quiz. Every time you lose your shalom, you repeat a grade.




The adversary does not need a new strategy if your reactions remain the same. That’s why Mishlei 25 says a city without walls is like a person without self-control. If you don’t have boundaries, anything can enter and steal your peace.




Let me give you a law of the Kingdom. You cannot grow beyond the level of your ability to handle opposition. The moment you complain about opposition, you announce you are not ready for promotion. In every family, in every calling, Elohim tests leaders before He trusts leaders, and the test is often people.




Yoseph’s dream was glorious but his brothers were jealous. His destiny was royal but his environment was hostile. Yet every human obstacle became a divine elevator. From the pit to Potiphar, from prison to palace, each stage had difficult people. But Yoseph refused bitterness. And when the time came, he said in Bereshith 50:20, “You meant it for evil, but Elohim meant it for good.”




So I want you to see your life correctly. Difficult people are exams. They check if patience is real. They check if love is mature. They check if peace is rooted. They check if you are a citizen of the Kingdom or a slave to your flesh.




That is why Yahusha said love your enemies. He wasn’t giving poetry, He was giving a training strategy. If you can love enemies, you can lead nations.




What you call opposition, Elohim calls preparation. What you call resistance, Elohim calls refining. And when you embrace that, you stop asking “why me?” and you start asking “what is this producing in me?” Because purpose is protected by character.




Now hear this. Difficult people are mirrors. They are not just there to disturb you, they are there to describe you. Your irritation is information. If someone can press one button and you explode, that button was already inside you. They didn’t put it there, they discovered it. And Elohim allows discovery so He can bring delivery.




Mishlei 4:23 says guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life. Dawid prayed in Tehillim 139, “Search me, O Elohim, and know my heart.” Dawid understood that the greatest danger was not a person outside him, but a weakness within him that could be activated by a person.




The same fire that burns straw refines gold. So when a difficult person shows up, ask the Kingdom question: “Father, what are You showing me about me?” Because the moment you shift from blame to self-awareness, you move from bondage to breakthrough.




Beloved, you cannot stop difficult people from existing, but you can stop them from controlling you. And the first step is to see them as mirrors sent by a wise Elohim to refine a destined you.




Now hear me. The person who controls your emotions controls you. Strength is not overpowering others, strength is overpowering yourself. Mishlei 16:32 says ruling your spirit is greater than taking a city.




Difficult people don’t truly have power over you, they have access granted by your reaction. When they criticize you and you explode, you gave them access. When they ignore you and you crumble, you gave them access.




Yahusha modeled this. Insulted, accused, misunderstood, yet governed. Yeshayahu 26:3 says perfect shalom belongs to the mind stayed on Yahuah.




Emotions are good servants but terrible masters. Reaction is flesh, response is spirit. Ya‛aqov 1:19 says be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. The pause is where power lives.




And emotional mastery does not mean tolerating abuse. It means you don’t lose yourself while confronting it. You can correct without cruelty, set boundaries without bitterness, walk away without resentment. That is maturity.




Nechemyah said, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” Some of you need to say that to your emotions. Purpose is too expensive to be exchanged for petty conflict.




So master yourself. Identify your triggers. Practice delay. Replace impulse with principle. Choose shalom as priority. Do not get pulled into storms.




And once you master yourself, you must establish boundaries. Boundaries are not psychology first, they are divine design. Elohim separated light from darkness, sea from land. Creation itself is order through borders.




Boundaries are not walls to keep people out, they are lines to protect what Elohim put in you. Yahusha had boundaries—He withdrew, He said His time had not yet come, He lived from assignment not pressure.




Your yes means nothing if your no is weak. Speak truth in love. Love without truth enables; truth without love wounds; truth and love together liberate.




People who benefit from breaking your boundaries will complain when you enforce them. Protest does not mean you are wrong, it may mean you are finally free.




Now difficult people show up in categories. Critics train confidence and consistency. Visibility is the price of purpose. Dawid was criticized by his own brother before facing Golyath, yet he said, “Is there not a cause?”




Controllers and manipulators train authority and discernment. Manipulation is control without respecting your will. Forgiveness is not access. Yahusha forgave many but entrusted Himself to few.




Energy drainers train stewardship. Energy is currency. Ephesians 5 says redeem the time. You cannot fulfill purpose while constantly recovering from people.




So guard your energy, filter your circles, manage engagement, preserve atmosphere. Purpose runs on strength and clarity.




And finally hear this. Everything comes to one decision—what kind of person are you becoming? Destination without transformation is disaster.




Stop trying to control people. Start governing yourself. The Kingdom is within you. In every conflict ask: do I want to be right or ready, win the argument or win my peace?




Romiyim 12:18 says live at shalom as much as lies in you. Yeshayahu 30:15 says in quietness and confidence is your strength.




So the next time a difficult person shows up, pause and say, “Father, thank You for this training. I will not be moved. I will not be manipulated. I will not be drained. I will grow through this.”




Because when you master your spirit, no difficult person can master your peace. Elohim will not always change the people around you because He is changing the leader within you.




Let every challenge refine you. Let every conflict teach you. And as you mature, either difficult people will rise to your level or fall away from your assignment. And in both cases—you win—because you are not here to be controlled by people, you are here to fulfill the purpose of Yahuah.