Grouchy Has Left the Building

Fresh Manna © 2008 by Pastor Tim Burt

1 Cor. 13:5 (NLT) “Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.”

One morning last week, I woke up, got out of bed, exercised, showered and began to get ready for my day before I came down to my office to pray and write Fresh Manna. I noticed something that morning. I noticed I was feeling grouchy. No one had done anything wrong. I hadn’t even talked with Renee other than saying “Good Morning Honey” because she headed downstairs to exercise on our elliptical machine. She hadn’t said or done anything to contribute to how I was feeling. I was just plain old feeling grouchy. I could tell. My thoughts seemed grouchy. My attitude in my thought-life seemed grouchy. I felt grouchy and I recognized it. Because I did, I asked the question, “Why did I feel grouchy?” It was one of those questions that had no answer.

If I had found an answer, it would not have been satisfactory. The Holy Spirit taught me a long time ago, there is no excuse for grouchy. All grouchy is, is yielding to a tired or lazy mind the same way your flesh likes to yield to fleshly things from time to time. If someone had said or done something offensive to me, is that an excuse to be grouchy? No! If I had a bad day or a bad week, is that a reason to be grouchy? No! The Lord taught me that there is no reason to be grouchy. It’s just a state of mind you have to deal with and pull yourself out of. Consequently, I did just that! I began to speak. “Thank you Lord for this beautiful day.” “This is the day that you have made and I will be glad and rejoice in it!” “Thank you for all you have blessed me with.” Thank you the precious people you have filled my life with.” And on and on….

I then went and gave Renee a morning kiss and hug and went on with my day. Grouchy tried to come but grouchy had to go! Grouchy is a self pity party. Grouchy is self absorbed in himself. Grouchy is not welcome in my home. Grouchy had left the building!

Renee and I were both immature in the walking out of our emotions in the early days of our marriage. I didn’t know the Word of God as well then. I just thought grouchy you feel, grouchy you be. I’d then act out grouchy. If I got irritable, she was the victim. She then got irritable and I became her recipient time five. That made for some interesting fireworks displays. The bottom line was we grew up. As I said earlier, we recognized that our emotions were to be controlled by the Spirit of God within us, not something to be yielded to just because we felt grouchy or irritable.

I went to the doctor recently for my annual checkup. As the nurse was directing my to the room I was supposed to go to, we walked pass a man whom evidently had been waiting for a while. He angrily said, “Yea hurry up and get in that room so you can wait for an hour…” He said more as I was walking down the hall and I could tell the nurse was embarrassed. She apologized and I said it wasn’t necessary. He probably just hadn’t had his coffee because he had to come to the doctor.

Do you know that no one wants to be around grouchy? Maybe I should say the word irritable instead of grouchy. Do you know that no one wants to be around someone that is irritable? Irritable is defined as: easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger; easily angered; touchy; ready to snap at or fight or argue with. That would define how I acted out grouchy or irritable in the days before I knew the Lord and the early days after I knew Him.

Grouchiness is all around us and Christians can be just as grouchy as anyone. Yet, Jesus did teach us through His Word that our character is developed in godliness when we put away the selfish and fleshly attitudes the world lives by.

Today’s Fresh Manna verse says, “Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.” If you really want to walk in this, it’s going to be supernaturally. In yourself you will fail. When these times of temptation to be grouchy come upon you, pause. Pause your thinking and what you are doing and lift your heart toward Heaven and ask God for grace. Grace is His supernatural help and equipping to get things done His way. Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

You are created in God’s image and if you know Jesus you have the Holy Spirit indwelling with you. So, on that note let me say this. You are sweet. You are kind. You are overflowing with His love. Let Him touch your heart and remind you of that real truth. Then for sure grouchy will have left the building!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/