Devotion - Wednesday May 20 - Quick and Slow

Text: Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – James 1:19-20

Devotion: Have you been noticing how angry everyone is, including yourself?

People are on edge, the ease and friendliness that days of comfort encourage has now been removed and the heat of difficulty is being applied to us.

Heat is a very interesting element not so much in what it is but in what it does to the things that it is applied to. Heat like nothing else will reveal the cracks, weaknesses, imperfections, and hidden realities that other elements will keep hidden.

So it is in the human life, when heat, discomfort and challenge are added who we really are is revealed. Martin Luther King Jr. is quoted saying "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Who we truly are comes out in times like these, and what is being revealed is that we are sinful, selfish, and quick to anger. But that cannot produce as James says the "Righteousness of God".

So what do we do? Seize the day and take hold of this opportunity to practice repentance, spew out sin through confession and ask the Lord to fill you with the Spirit to cleanse you from unrighteousness. This time is a gift, let us take hold of this gift and emerge from this season more Godly and less angry.

Questions: 

1. What has the 'heat' from this season revealed to you?
2. What steps do you need to take to take care of the sin in your heart?
3. How does God cleanse us?
4. Spend time in prayer confessing, repenting, and asking God to cleanse your life from the sin that has been revealed.