Victory247

“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly”  Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)

Something that I can proclaim with certainty over my 50 plus years of life is that people will bother other people. We will get upset by someone’s words or actions in the course of daily living. It’s hard to control that feeling of being bothered. But we can control our response. Being patient with others is not natural, it is supernatural. Many times, while gritting teeth, I find myself pleading with God to help me not let a certain person bother me, to help me forgive, or help me understand how to get through my anger. The more I attack these issues, the more I find myself able to endure and understand.

The most difficult times of allowing God to get me over my bitterness toward offenders are when certain people get under my skin. They don’t even have to do anything directed at me. I only have to see these certain people, and just their way of handling themselves grates at me.

One day I came home with chiggers. They are little bugs that burrow under the skin and leave a trail of small bumps. They have to be suffocated to get rid of them. Nail polish or even ammonia kills them off. Prayer to God can harden our skin so that irritating people won’t burrow under our skin. And asking God for the strength to forgive and understand our offenders will suffocate the intruders.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I need Your strength to forgive and be patient with those who get under my skin. Thank You that You promise to give me ‘great understanding’ if I work on this. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.