Joshua 18

'So Joshua said to the Israelites, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given to you?"' (18:3)

This sounds kind of weird, but I get pretty frustrated when people don't see how gracious God is being to them, or when they get all depressed and moody and mad at God when the reason why they're in their funk is completely self-made (i.e. when they play the victim). I feel kind of like Joshua might've felt: how long will they wait before they begin to take possession of the rich inheritance they have in Christ, the victory of being God's adopted sons and daughters?

But then I realize that that anger itself in me is connected to an inheritance that I'm not taking possession of. I can't really put it into words yet, but God has been showing me more and more that pastoring is much more (at least most of the time) than scolding people for keeping their eyes closed.

I've got understand better what it is that's at the root of my anger. And in that case the question I need to ask is: what am I looking for that's not being given to me when I see people slow to realize how much God has already given to them, and how much power they really have?