Are you dealing with something - or someone - that is causing you to have to really dig deep to get through the day?
Growing up I always remember my Dad saying “to grin and bear it”. He said that a lot because he often had to endure some difficult times. As a pastor’s family, there were many things we all had to endure.
I never liked that phrase and I’m still not fond of it.
What does it mean to “grin and bear it”?
This is when you have to deal with unpleasant things and people in life but have to take it without showing it. I can tell you that I am not good at this and many times when we are “grinning” the grin isn’t a smile but more of gritting our teeth. It is a little more difficult to hold our tongues and not let our emotions at the moment come out. There are some people who are totally unfiltered in their feelings and opinions. It is always wise to be diplomatic rather than just say what’s on your mind or fuss about the situation you are in at the moment.
The first passage in the Bible which comes to my mind is 1 Corinthians 13:7 which says “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.”
When we love people - even the ones who make it difficult to love them - we have to bear them and endure them and their ways. I don’t know about you but I don’t like that part but sometimes in order to keep the peace, you have to endure.
If you live long enough, you are going to encounter difficult times and people. These times are like storms. We have to get through them to the other side. Surviving the difficult times and people requires us to endure and believe and hope for better days. There is no way we will avoid difficulties in life so we need to learn how to get through them.
Grinning and bearing it means that we need to have a positive attitude instead of giving into the negative thoughts. It means to hold our tongues from cussing someone out. Grinning during the bad times when the smile is a down payment on better days ahead. It’s the way we get through life and it takes great restraint sometimes to not stay anything or do anything in response to the difficulties we encounter.
Much has been taught about the Holy Spirit and, sadly, mis-taught about what exactly the Holy Spirit does. He’s not to do something supernatural but to be a comfort to us during those difficult times that we face. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is a helper. (John 15:26) The Holy Spirit was often called a Paraclete which means “advocate” or “helper”. Believe me - we should welcome the extra help when we are in those “grin it and bear it” situations.
The difficulty times and people will come but we don't have to be taken down by them. The ability to grin and bear things is a huge inner strength we can have. In the end, how we react to them is the only thing we can control. We will get plenty of practice so let's get good at it.
