Irritated! - February 2009

Has a brother or sister ever frustrated you with something they did? Have you ever been paired with a “know-it-all” for a project? If so, then you understand how Moses felt when the very people he had sacrificed for and served for many years said, “‘Why have you made us come up from Egypt…?’” (Num. 20:5). In spite of all that Moses did for the Israelites, there were numerous times where they challenged, insulted, and even accused him.
Every one of us struggles with irritations. Those irritations are generally brought on by our circumstances or the people around us. According to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, to be irritated means “To excite anger; to provoke; to tease; to exasperate”. Irritations are common in life. How should we respond to them? First, we should thank God for them. I Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in everything. That is just the opposite of what we want to do! If we thank God for our irritations, we gain a new mindset – our eyes are now open to see our situation as God sees it. God is bigger than whatever annoys us, so He can put an end to it whenever He needs to. However, He wants the best for us and often uses what annoys us to help us grow. Secondly, we should ask ourselves if anything we did annoyed the other person, causing them to annoy us. If so, we need to make that right. Lastly, if we have done nothing to cause the irritation, we need to consider what fruit God is trying to develop in us. Is God trying to teach us self-control? Patience? Love? Another way to dissolve our irritation with someone is to go out of our way to do something nice and unexpected for them. Instead of angrily insisting on our rights and demanding that the other person stop irritating us, God wants us to patiently lay down our rights and allow Him to judge us and the other person one day (1 Peter 2:23). God wants us to deal with irritations His way, not our way.
God does more than just “put up” with us. Even though we sin daily and often do the exact opposite of what He wants us to do, He seeks what is best for us, even when that means allowing His Son to die for us. Next time you’re irritated, pray that God will help you to see the situation His way, not your way. Thank Him for working in your life every day, and follow His leading to resolve the irritation.