Every-things

"Nothing propels you forward out of patience and away from your love-walk than anger."

THE LORD HAS SET THE TABLE before me, but I'm too busy smashing plates. Or throwing forks at the enemy. Maybe I'll peg one in the eye. Sigh. Problem is, the enemy is sometimes me. If I weren't so touchy. I'm standing on my own last nerve some days. Holding my sensitive nature close (that's what I'm calling it now) lest I blow up again.

1 Corinthians 13 lists "is not easily provoked" as part of what the love of God is in us. Have you tried not being easily provoked? Have you, pal? Okay. (Calming down.) That's the first key to not being easily irritated. Realizing you are easily irritated. And the truth is, first, you have to know this is a problem for you in order to desire to overcome it. Then you have to be irritated in order to stop being irritated.

Like that persistent thing that always sets you off? You have to decide to face it and be all birds and flowers. Tweet-tweet. No, no, we're not going to smash the sweet birdy. Fly away sweet birdy.

In order to overcome anger and irritability, we need God. There are every-things we can't do without Him. The apostle Paul made a statement in his first letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. He described who he was when Jesus rescued him, saying he was an angry, violent man, and that, in the end, what is seen in his life is Jesus' extreme patience. I'd hate to think my rash reactions tested Jesus' patience.

But here again, we see the truth because patience is a virtue of the Holy Spirit, a fruit that grows in us because we are connected to Him. Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. His life flows into us and His Word prunes us so that we bring forth not just fruit now and then but in abundance, and pruning often hurts. To deliberately go slowly when you really want to be on the racetrack takes all of you, and nothing propels you forward out of patience and away from your love-walk than anger.

Irritability is that seed stuck between your teeth. It's the constant rub of thoughts against your mind. Like a muscle twitch that won't stop. And we stare at it and mull it over and give it way too much focus so that it grows in size. Over time, the thorn in our finger becomes a tree, and instead of plucking it out with tweezers, we're backing up a ditch digger. We'll not only remove the thorn but all of the rose bushes.

The presence of God is the way out. Paul became a patient man because of the Holy Spirit in him. I become God's description of love because the Spirit works in me. He who is exceedingly loving, exceptionally calm, and of unending patience is abundant mercy to me, even when I blow up again and definitely don't deserve it. But I have to choose to spend time with Him. I have to make time. And I have to determine to do as He leads me, even if the slowness would ordinarily set me off, even if the quiet isn't my current mood, and the one million questions about what is (crosses that out) WAS bugging me remain unanswered. I have to be calm without holding all the pieces and lean my entire being on Him. Which is how we are supposed to be anyhow. He is the river slowly progressing with barely a ripple on its surface. We must focus on Him and make Him responsible for our movement.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

We must cast our care on Him and refuse to pick it up again. We must tolerate what would ordinarily irritate us, our thoughts on who Christ is in us instead. When we change our focus, with the power of God flowing to us, we will overcome that thing and find ourselves, however much time later, not reacting the same. We can pray for God to remove something from us, and He will do that. But in many things, it is that we can bear them now, which lifts the burden. God is our help in times of trouble, not as an excuse for our behavior but as the correction for it.

I will go get the broom now and clean up this mess, watching carefully for my dog who hates the broom closet. (The vacuum is in there.) And perhaps, sit outside and admire the blue sky and the morning bird visitors while she chases lizards. I can read God’s Word, maybe 1 Timothy, and leave all that nagging turmoil in God’s hands. He sees my todays and knows my tomorrows. He has good plans for me, and nothing on earth can stop them, especially considering the size of it. To me a mountain, to Him a molehill. To me a battle, to Him a victory.

Love: “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)

Image by Htc Erl from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com