JAMES DAY 38 - That Really Burns Me Up

DAY 38
That Really Burns Me Up!
James 5:9

Parents are great for quirky, quotable lines. My dad used to say, “That really burns me up!” anytime someone irritated him. Those were the situations that tempted him to lose patience.

What tempts you to lose your patience?

We get impatient when we face one of three situations. First, we’re annoyed. Everyone has little stressors that irritate or annoy you. Why does he leave the seat up? Why does she leave her laundry there? Why do they have to be so loud?

Second, we get impatient when we experience suffering. Some of you are going through it right now. Maybe you feel overworked and underpaid. You’re a parent, stressed by an uncooperative child. Maybe you've been cooped up, unable to live with the freedom you crave. Or you've been wracked with chronic pain, wondering how to get through the day. Maybe you’re hurt by the distance in a once vibrant relationship. Or maybe you feel lonely, wondering if anyone will ever notice. You’re tired and losing patience.

Sometimes the hardest thing is the third category, watching other people suffer. You’re watching a friend make bad choice after bad choice. Or you’re walking with someone struggling to keep faith. Maybe you carry the weight of a generation plagued by gun violence, that’s traded in the “duck and cover” drills of the 1950s for Alice Drills. Some of you might carry heartache for the devastation in faraway places. You’re tired and losing patience.

What happens when we lose patience?

We make bad decisions. The worst parts of us lash out. James worries that hard-pressed Jesus-followers will get sick of suffering and not act like Jesus-followers. That’s real stuff when James warns us “not to grumble against each other.” Isn’t that what we do? “UGH! Razzafrazzen-no-good-dirty-rotten…” We let loose at each other!

Step one of growing patience is being aware of what makes us impatient.

REFLECT
Which of these three things makes you most impatient: being annoyed, personal suffering, watching others suffer?

PRAY
Lord, search my heart. Show me what makes me impatient and how I usually react. Amen.