What does it take to punch your buttons? You know what I mean. What does it take to get you really irritated or frustrated or goaded into some other reactionary mode?
 
One of the things that I admire most about Jesus is the way that He was able to keep His focus, remain constant in character and stay on message. He was surrounded by people who had agendas for His life. Some wanted Him to conform to their beliefs, some were constantly looking for ways to trip Him up or get Him to misspeak, while others were so opposed to Him that they seized every opportunity to make His life miserable. Even when He got visibly angry (that incident in the Temple comes to mind), Jesus expressed it in a way that was consistent with His life's task...make a way for people to connect with the Father. So how did He do it? What was His secret?
 
Mark's Gospel account records the time that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law and ministered well into the night. The next morning He got up early, while it was still dark, and prayed. Eventually, Peter and the others found Jesus and began to pepper Him with a list of demands on His time and agendas for His day. His response was succinct. "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for this is why I came out" (Mark 1:38). What was Jesus' secret? He spent regular time with the Father in prayer. It was there that He was reminded of the Father's love for Him. It was there that He received direction for His life. It was there that He was bathed in the perfect peace of God that passes all understanding. With a calm strength and clear focus, He faced whatever came His way with the quiet confidence that time spent with our heavenly Father will bring. He knew who He was, whose He was and what He was to do.
 
How about you? I think that our buttons are most easily pushed when we feel threatened, unclear about who we are or challenged as to our direction and competency. Jesus faced each day with a profound understanding of His place with the Father and in His plan. It came from laying His life beside the scriptures and spending time in prayer. What do you think?
 
See you on Sunday.
 
Terrell