Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Our God is really something else yes Friends! Although I know His modus operandi ranges from the simple and direct to the eccentric and oblique, His unique manner of showing us the error of our ways still amazes me every time I encounter it, like just now. The Lord pulled a fast one on me, that’s why I was laughing. As usual, I asked for guidance in finding a Bit, but at that particular time, there was anger in my spirit from an earlier petty argument. I subsequently rejected two passages I had previously considered cause they needed some research and I was in no mood for that, and kept on looking for something simpler. I’m currently reading Ecclesiastes for my sight deficient mother, with a bookmark where I’ve reached, so at one point it naturally opened there, and I kept searching. Actually, today I read her the first half of Chapter seven, but obviously paid no real heed to those verses. This time though, through the Spirit’s unfathomable workings, my eyes were irresistibly drawn to them and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at their timely relevance. Hn,hn! Talk about our God’s wily ways. He probably mused, ‘ So yuh want something easy eh mih son? Well here. No need for research on this, cause you’re a living example.’ And you know what people? As soon as I began laughing, like mist on a sudden breath of wind, my anger just disappeared and my spirit regained its equilibrium. Wow! ‘For laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.’ (Arnold Glasow) Also, ‘unlike medicine, laughter costs us nothing, and can be partaken of as often as we see fit…A good hearty laugh is therapy for our minds and bodies.’ That’s so true Friends. It’s from a Devotional called ‘One More Day; Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. From that viewpoint, I can surely agree with Solomon that ‘Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.’ The end of my angry mood was certainly better than the start, for while the anger had my spirit in grasp, everything was out of sync; I couldn’t think straight, writing the Bit seemed an onerous chore; the enemy’s negativity controlled my entire being. And Friends, though we know that ‘the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit,’ it’s not an easy thing to do, especially when the evil forces seem to be bombarding you from all sides. Even Solomon, reputed to be the richest, wisest man ever, who supposedly penned these words of wisdom, he made an absolute mess of his life at the end by turning away from the God who had brought him to such prominence. It means that oftimes we’re not too bright, allowing the evil flesh to rule us, instead of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Lord knows that the walk of faith is not easy Friends, that’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit as a guide and helpmate. When the flesh acts up, we’ve got to immediately turn to the voice of truth that resides in our soul. There’s so much irritating nonsense in our world, that it will drive us crazy if we allow it to. I guess that’s why the Most High drew my attention today to that most appropriate verse; ‘Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.’ Please Friends, let’s try and reduce the occasions when our bosoms are foolish. Pray for the ole fella.(smile) Much LOVE!…slow to wrath equals understanding…hasty of spirit equals foolish…
Our God is really something else yes Friends! Although I know His modus operandi ranges from the simple and direct to the eccentric and oblique, His unique manner of showing us the error of our ways still amazes me every time I encounter it, like just now. The Lord pulled a fast one on me, that’s why I was laughing. As usual, I asked for guidance in finding a Bit, but at that particular time, there was anger in my spirit from an earlier petty argument. I subsequently rejected two passages I had previously considered cause they needed some research and I was in no mood for that, and kept on looking for something simpler. I’m currently reading Ecclesiastes for my sight deficient mother, with a bookmark where I’ve reached, so at one point it naturally opened there, and I kept searching. Actually, today I read her the first half of Chapter seven, but obviously paid no real heed to those verses. This time though, through the Spirit’s unfathomable workings, my eyes were irresistibly drawn to them and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at their timely relevance. Hn,hn! Talk about our God’s wily ways. He probably mused, ‘ So yuh want something easy eh mih son? Well here. No need for research on this, cause you’re a living example.’ And you know what people? As soon as I began laughing, like mist on a sudden breath of wind, my anger just disappeared and my spirit regained its equilibrium. Wow! ‘For laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.’ (Arnold Glasow) Also, ‘unlike medicine, laughter costs us nothing, and can be partaken of as often as we see fit…A good hearty laugh is therapy for our minds and bodies.’ That’s so true Friends. It’s from a Devotional called ‘One More Day; Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. From that viewpoint, I can surely agree with Solomon that ‘Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.’ The end of my angry mood was certainly better than the start, for while the anger had my spirit in grasp, everything was out of sync; I couldn’t think straight, writing the Bit seemed an onerous chore; the enemy’s negativity controlled my entire being. And Friends, though we know that ‘the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit,’ it’s not an easy thing to do, especially when the evil forces seem to be bombarding you from all sides. Even Solomon, reputed to be the richest, wisest man ever, who supposedly penned these words of wisdom, he made an absolute mess of his life at the end by turning away from the God who had brought him to such prominence. It means that oftimes we’re not too bright, allowing the evil flesh to rule us, instead of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Lord knows that the walk of faith is not easy Friends, that’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit as a guide and helpmate. When the flesh acts up, we’ve got to immediately turn to the voice of truth that resides in our soul. There’s so much irritating nonsense in our world, that it will drive us crazy if we allow it to. I guess that’s why the Most High drew my attention today to that most appropriate verse; ‘Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.’ Please Friends, let’s try and reduce the occasions when our bosoms are foolish. Pray for the ole fella.(smile) Much LOVE!…slow to wrath equals understanding…hasty of spirit equals foolish…
SCRIP-BITS 