Five Day Focus: Patience Day 3: Instead of grumbling, forgiveness.

Five Day Focus: Patience

Day 3: Instead of grumbling, forgiveness.

James 5:9-11

⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.  Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Romans 15:5-6

 ⁵ Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 4:11

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

1 Peter 4:9

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Galatians 5:14

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 5:11-12

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Ephesians 4:31–32

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you

Matthew 5:21-22 The Message

Jesus said, "'You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder... The simple moral fact is that words kill

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Devotional:

Venting. Is it really healthy? We all need to have a trusted friend and a safe place to bare our souls and be genuine. However, this can quickly become a crutch. There can be a fine line between letting out my stresses and seeking to receive counsel and just spewing anger without recognizing that there is a root in me that needs healing.  

It can be so hard to fight against the popular bend in our culture to give vent to all our feelings (see articles in comments). However, God doesn’t endorse the easy path of holding grudges or grumbling against our children or our spouse. How many times do we (especially us, girls…) start talking and find ourselves down the slippery slope of talking about our spouse and children in less than flattering terms? This truly isn’t what the Word teaches us. Instead, God calls us to walk the narrow path of forgiveness.

Sweet sisters (and brothers), there is no doubt that this is one of the most challenging admonitions in parenting a child that wears on our last nerve. That’s why we are in desperate need of a daily time with the Lord where we can confess, receive healing, and soak our weary souls in the Word. Five minutes in His Presence will truly change our hearts and equip us to be able to forgive our children and spouses so we might be effective ministers of His gospel.  We definitely are called to walk this out in community, and bear one another’s burdens. This isn’t a call to clam up or stuff our challenges—truly, it is just the opposite. What does the Word say? “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)”.

Let’s be counter culture. Let’s walk the narrow path in our parenting, and ask God to help us to handle our stresses in a Godly way. If you have need of someone to trust with your issues, this place is truly safe. It takes practice to approach this from the standpoint of confession, but in time it will truly bring healing and allow us to move forward in our calling.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You for showing me the wisdom from Your Word about giving vent to my feelings. I desire to honor You as a parent, and ask that You will educate me in Godly confession. Lead me kindly into repentance if I have a selfish heart (Romans 2:4). Bless my home with an atmosphere of grace. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, Lord (Psalm 19:14).

Intercession:

Suggestion: open your prayer journal. Intercede over the needs of your children (and spouse).

And/or: As the Spirit leads, pray over the needs of the day. Take time and wait on the Lord.

I give this day and my family to You, God. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Additional Resources:

http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/devotionals/truthaboutventing.asp

http://dev30.denisonforum.org/main-articles/morality/2874-the-godly-way-to-vent