MY DEAR BROTHERS, TAKE NOTE OF THIS: EVERYONE SHOULD BE QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK AND SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY
(James 1:19).
I encourage you to think of someone you know who is hurting deeply right now. Know that you can be of great comfort to your friend by being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
Be quick to listen. Listen carefully. Listen observantly. Listen with patience. Listen, so you may understand her problem. Be attentive to your friend’s heart. Allow her to feel…to perceive…to experience. Her emotions will help her to connect with her heart, her pain, and with God.
BUT THE COUNSELOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS
(John 14:26).
Be slow to speak. Know that it is not your advice that counts, your perception that is needed, your understanding that is important, but the advice of God, the Counselor. Encourage your friend to talk to you, so she can hear what her own heart is trying to tell her. Then, lead her to God, the Counselor. He will tell her what she needs to know.
BE…SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY, FOR MAN’S ANGER DOES NOT BRING ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT GOD DESIRES
(James 1:19, 20).
Be slow to become angry. Be careful that your own pain does not get in the way and cause you to become angry when you listen to another’s pain. It is not about your pain when you are helping someone else. Surrender your own heart-ache to God, the Counselor, so you may be a better listener to your friend.
How do you respond to another’s pain? Are you reluctant to listen…to be still…to understand? Are you quick to react…to speak…to give advice?
Be quick to listen. Be slow to speak. Be slow to react to another’s pain and become angry. Instead, help your friend connect with God and hear His Perspective, so she may be comforted.
PRAYER: Most High, remind me, daily, that You have sent the Counselor to teach us all things, at all times. Remind me to not get in the way when someone confides in me, but to listen and understand with the purpose of directing everyone to the Counselor.
Maintain an Awareness
Therefore, do not despair of the evil done against you: the insincerity…the depravity…the immorality. They might have meant evil against you; BUT GOD will cancel the effects of any evil done against you, in the past, in the present, and in the future, if you submit to His discipline.