April #jammed: Grace Studies.

Day 104: Tempers flare.

“Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve.
    In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.” Psalm 103:10

“MOM!” And then the stomp …and another stomp …and then a full body stomp …which really has to be seen in action to be fully appreciated for all that it is.

My second child challenges me with her quick temper. Her older sister is more prone to brood and stew when things don’t go her way …but my little Lo light’s her fuse immediately.

We all have the tendency to act without thought, overreact, or fail to act when we should;  but holding onto bitter notions takes some brooding.

brood- to dwell on a subject or to meditate with morbid persistence. 

Jesus is our ticket off the crazy-train. Because of His death, the cycle of hopeless thinking is interrupted.

“God’s patience must not be underestimated. Because he is patient with us, he does not treat us as we deserve.” Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary

We should be punished for losing our temper …for our lack of faithfulness and thankfulness. We do what we hate, as the apostle Paul states …even though we know we hate it. So, what is a good God to do? He forgives. He went out of His way to forgive us before we were sorry. Before we made mistakes. Before our temper snapped and we sat brooding about it for days upon end. Before we set that grudge to hold for all of those years, Jesus set our hearts free.

All of humanity, starting in the Garden of Eden, finds a way to brood and snap over circumstances that we don’t understand or approve of.  Thankfully, God provided a perfect way for us to break that cycle.

Raising a child with a temper is a good look into God’s patience. He loves us despite of ourselves, like I love her …and beyond. His patience is perfect, because it’s part of who He is.

Father, Praise You for patience! Thank for each day we are forgiven instead of spite by You. We don’t get what we deserve, and we ask for You forgiveness of taking that for granted. Bless us to recognize Your patience love in others over our stubborn heart’s criticism. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy Temper-tantrum-ing,

Megs

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