No More Out of Control

Patience is better than pride. Do no be quickly provoked in your spirit. For anger resides in the lap of fools. Eccl. 7:8-9.

I relate so much with today’s verse. Pride is a breeding ground for fury.

We clutch to our laps the things that are precious to us (and rightly so): a grandchild, a cherished gift from a member of our family or a friend, a hug, an embrace. These are all things to which we hold tight.

However, sometimes ANGER is the valuable to which we hold tight.

Yet, Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, the wise man of his time, encourages us that letting patience win is a better choice.

I’ve attempted to teach my five-year-old grandson what patience is. He assures me that he already knows. “It’s WAITING, Mimi!”

From the mouth of babes, his words ring true.

When we’re face to face with a person who always tends to do the opposite of what we say or want or someone whose annoying interruptions make it hard to get things done or someone who micromanages our lives, that is our opportunity to exhibit patience.

When an outside force attempts to ruin the day with nitpicking or contentious comments, the dynamics of the inner workings of our hearts can over-tax an already burdened mind.

Psalm 37:8 says, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.” The context of this verse surrounds good instructions for those who fret over evil-doers who seem to be succeeding in their plans or getting away with evil.

Yet, the words are so powerful in our every day lives. Notice the verbs: refrain, turn, do not. We have a choice in self-control to refrain from or restrain our words we long to spew out just because they pop into our minds or just because the other person speaks out of turn and stirs our anger or just because we didn’t get enough sleep last night. We can even turn from wrath (theirs and ours) and set ourselves to not fret about it. Refusing to fret requires self-control of our thoughts. It’s called taking responsibility for what we say and do and, even, think!

The meaning behind the word ‘fret’ is: to burn or be kindled with anger like hot wax. It reminds me of people who tell on themselves, “I just had a melt down!” …a way of saying they were completely out of control. They said and did things they highly regretted.

I’ve been there and done that. ‘Embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ don’t even come close to describing how I felt afterwards. Oh, how I wish I could take those times all back when I’ve messed up.

Do we need God to help us at times when life doesn’t go as planned? However, we must remain in communion with the Holy Spirit in order to benefit from His fruit (Galatians 5:22). We must grow in the Lord and become steadfastly intentional with our words and actions (especially on crazy days that tempt us to rage).

Nurturing a habit of quick temper begins inside us, in our spirits. So does nurturing peace and love. What’s inside typically spills over to those around us. SEE what is good in the situation or the people you mingle with. God is ALWAYS working, no matter what is going on. Think about what is good, and good will come out of your mouth. A quiet spirit can reign even when others lose it and tempt your temper to explode.

If I lose it when someone else loses it, it is a warning sign of what is in my spirit.

Lord, help me to be stirred by what stirs you, and let that be the extent of my anger. Teach me the unselfish act of laying down my life for others in the name of Jesus. Combat my pride (that agitates me to anger and resentment) with a quiet spirit and humility that speaks louder than wrath (and has a more positive effect and plentifully attracts others). Draw others to you through my ways of interacting. In Jesus name, Amen.

What’s Coming Next?

Exodus 6:9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

After the Israelites response of worship to God in the last blog, Moses relayed God’s words to Pharaoh, and as anticipated, he turned him down flat. In fact, out of spite, Pharaoh increased the work of the Israelites to the extreme.

Moses brought their complaints to God, who, once again, promised to bring them out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, to free them from slavery and to redeem them with His outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment.

But the Israelites were too burdened and overwhelmed in their suffering to believe much of anything Moses said. They were caught up in their pain and earthly view. They were caught up in their lack of faith and their lack of knowledge of God and His truth.

Their discouragement was contagious. It spread to Moses. “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” Exodus 6:12

But God told him to go and speak to Pharoah, adding, of course: “He will not listen to you.”

Did you see that? God agreed with Moses.

His agreement captured my attention as I read the story.

There will be times when our discouragement will be warranted. The facts are clear. Some bad things that we imagine in our minds will happen.

But even in our discouragement, we must always ponder, what’s coming next?

In this story, God’s mighty works were about to show them that He is Lord over all.

When my discouragement is real, God wants me to turn my focus on how real HE is and not sit in despair that the earth is more than happy to provide me.

In another story (John 20:16), after the resurrection of Jesus, Mary was weeping, looking for her Lord at the tomb site, but she couldn’t find him. She was discouraged. But what was coming next?

Jesus called out to her, Mary….

He spoke in a way that only He could say it. She turned toward Him and cried out in relief. Not only was his body found, He was alive! Oh, the joy Mary must have felt.

The side note that came to me as I was reading this passage was that her “turning” towards him describes an important word in the Bible, repent.

Repentance is not just saying I’m sorry and then going back to whatever we were doing. It is a complete turn toward Jesus. It is a changed life and a surrendering to His love.

Mary had done no wrong, yet in turning toward her Lord after hearing her name, everything was different than it had been a few minutes before when she was overwhelmed in tears.

When my name is called out in love, it does something wonderful to me. But to hear my name through the lips of Jesus would be extraordinarily significant.

May we learn each and every day, in all our discouragements, whether in sin or not, to keep our eyes turned to the Lord who knows each of us by name.

And that is exactly what God wanted from the Israelites. What happened next for them is that the Lord eventually brought His mighty acts of judgement upon Egypt and brought the Israelites out. He even made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, who gave them what they asked for their journey ahead.

What a wonderful beginning to their new lives.

Father, as I start my new year, help me to have faith to realize that the story of my life isn’t over yet, and that all discouraging issues are simply opportunities for me to anticipate what you will do next. You are God over all the earth. I want to come to know you and your mighty ways. I bow before you and worship you. In Jesus name, Amen.