Irritations That Bring Glory to God
James 3:18 "Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who
make peace." NKJV
Have you ever been irritated? Or should I rephrase this question and ask:
have you ever had a day without any irritations? Wouldn't we be very patient
if we had no irritations?
Like taxes, they are constantly with us. What helps me though is to know
that I am not in charge of my day. God is! God's prophets were quite aware
of that and are set as examples of patience: James 5:10-11 "Brothers, as an
example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord." NIV
It is true that God would like for us to use our time wisely, but He is more
concerned with qualities that make us more Christ like! Rom 13:14 "Clothe
yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for
[indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of
your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts)." AMP
One of His best ways to train us is through the adjustment of our daily
irritations. Whenever we are irritated, we have 3 choices:
a. Do nothing. So what?
B. Be upset and even get mad about it.
C. Use the irritation to give glory to God. (1 Cor 10:31-32 "So whether you
eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." NIV)
Our best example concerning irritations is the oyster. A small irritant
enters its dwelling. If the oyster had a choice, it may well spew it out.
The result: no pearl! However by using this irritant to the glory of God,
the oyster turns that irritant into a beautiful pearl. Wow!
I have the same choice when facing irritations. What choice will I make?
Doing nothing, will not make them disappear from my life. Being upset by
them will turn me into a discontented sour puss. However, if I decide to use
the irritation to give glory to God, I will honor my God and attract people
to Jesus, who is the reason why I can handle these irritations to the glory
of God. What choice would you make if you were in my shoes?
Let me use an illustration of an irritant that was used to God's glory.
There is a beetle that feeds on cotton plants, both in its larval stage, as
well as in its adult form. It's name: the boll weevil. In the 1860 it had
prevented the growth of cotton in Mexico. By 1893 it had started to infest
Texan cotton. By 1910 the state of Alabama was in uproar: Sooner or later
they would be next to the devastation of the boll weevil, as their main
plantations consisted of cotton.
However, there was a scientist in Alabama who was God fearing. His name was
George Washington Carver. He discovered the properties of the peanut plant
and started promoting its cultivation, as he discovered that peanuts could
be used in a variety of useful ways, and no boll weevil was ever interested
in peanut plants. Instead of being upset with the irritation of the boll
weevil like most farmers were, he praised God for the boll weevil as people
started to become aware of the usefulness of the peanut plant.
The result? Most farmers continued farming the cotton plant and were
devastated by the damages done by the boll weevil. These are the farmers who
were upset and blamed the government for doing nothing to help their case.
However, several farmers especially from the Coffee county, listened to
George Washington Carver and started peanut plantations. Those are the
farmers who were prospering! No complaints could be heard by them! In fact
they were thankful for the boll weevil, as they never would have tried
another plantation like the peanut plant otherwise.
Irritations... They will always be in our life. We have to decide how to
react towards them. What choice will you make? I know what choice I want to
make. Let us welcome them into our life and turn these irritants into
beautiful pearls to the glory of God!
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org