Job 10:1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
Oh Friends, life can certainly be harsh and unfair at times. And though we have a natural right to be angry and show some negative emotion under those circumstances, it doesn’t mean we should always use it. Why? The truth of the matter is that those negative emotions don’t usually improve the situation, but more often aggravate and make it worse. And I have a quote to share which attests to that. For some reason I keep thinking that I’ve used it before, but never had the time to check. However, even if I did, it’s good enough and important enough to be used again. In fact it’s something we should be continually reminded of. The quote is: ‘Bitterness imprisons life; LOVE releases it.’ Those are true and rather appropriate words of Henry Emerson Fosdick. As we said, there are times when we’re entitled to get angry, but Bruh Paul warned: ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.’ (Eph.4:26-27) So we need to get rid of our anger before we go to bed, and don’t do anything that will give Lucifer pleasure. A serious problem crops up when we don’t follow Bruh Paul’s advice and we keep that anger seething in our soul, until it foments, like yeast and alcohol, then it morphs into bitterness. And that my Friends is one of the worse situations in which we can ever find ourselves, because that bitterness, like acid in a plastic container, will just eat away, continually erode our soul until it drives us stark crazy. We’ll live a turmoil filled life; always sour, impatient, miserable and unhappy, both on the inside and outside. And don’t think you can hide it, for it comes out in our external behaviour. It even makes us more ugly; always wearing a frown or a scowl, while our friends, families and associates try to stay clear of us and our negative behaviour. Please remember my brethren that Jesus said it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of his mouth, that comes from his heart. (Mat.15:17-20) That means whatever is in our hearts will show up in our speech and our behaviour. So if you’re bitter, then you certainly won’t have peace. According to Henry, your life will be imprisoned by the negativity surrounding you. Now our man Job, in light of all the calamity that suddenly befell him, while living a fairly righteous life, had good cause to be angry. The many years of hard work and raising a family were erased in one fell swoop. He had every right to bewail his situation. ‘My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself (give free course to my complaint). Not surprisingly, Job is’nt the only man of great faith to get weary of life and request death. Elijah, after killing all the prophets of Baal was afraid of Jezebel’s death threat and went off to the wilderness and asked to die. ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.’ (I Kings 19:4) But the Lord did not grant his request, just made him rest and eat, then talked with him about his problems. And when Elijah was refreshed in body and renewed in confidence, the Lord gave him more tasks to perform. The same thing happened to Jonah. After he stopped being afraid and finally spread the Lord’s message in Nineveh, he became angry at God’s graciousness to save the city and declared. ‘Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.’ (Jon.4:3) But the Lord didn’t grant his request either, but sat and reasoned with him. Job in his anguish also remonstrates with God, claiming; ‘My soul chooseth strangling, and death, rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity (a breath or vapour) (Job 7:15-16) Read Job 7 Friends and see all the complaints he throws at God. ‘Therefore I will not refrain (restrain) my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.’ (Job 7:11) And he did. Ah my people, it’s hard when it seems like the weight of the whole world has fallen on us, especially when we’re trying to live right. And it’s normal for the human soul to get sad, tired angry and weary, but we must not, NEVER let the negativity take up residence in our souls. We never know what the Lord has planned for us. Sometimes all we need is rest, a respite from the all the confusion around us. And as Henry says, only LOVE will release us from the imprisonment of negativity. And where do we get the best, most beneficial and healing LOVE? From the Most High God Jehovah. And as the hymn advises, when we’re troubled, ‘Take it to the Lord in prayer.’ Yes my people, that’s the only sensible solution. Like Job, Jonah, Elijah and many others did, pour out all your sorrows, troubles and anger to Him. He will understand. He wants us to come to Him with any and all problems. Like a good parent, He’s there to help us with anything at any time. Sometimes we too become sad and bewildered by what’s happening around us, and if we take our troubles to the Lord, He will consider them and find a way to make us right, for he doesn’t want any of us to depart this life before we have achieved the goals, the dreams He’s put in our hearts. Just like all those people of great faith poured out their problems to the Lord and He refreshed and renewed their spirit, then sent them to continue His work with a new vigour, the Lord will do the same with us Friends if we genuinely bewail our troubles to Him. If the negative aspects of life drive us crazy, be assured, be comforted that He will hear our pleas and answer them in the best manner possible. Remember that every thing works together for good to those who LOVE and sincerely seek Him. So let’s try and avoid the negative build up in our souls which will seriously inhibit our ability to work for Jesus. But by the same token, if it does happen, don’t be afraid to cry out to the Lord. Much LOVE!…so the Lord blessed the latter end of Job…more than the beginning.
Oh Friends, life can certainly be harsh and unfair at times. And though we have a natural right to be angry and show some negative emotion under those circumstances, it doesn’t mean we should always use it. Why? The truth of the matter is that those negative emotions don’t usually improve the situation, but more often aggravate and make it worse. And I have a quote to share which attests to that. For some reason I keep thinking that I’ve used it before, but never had the time to check. However, even if I did, it’s good enough and important enough to be used again. In fact it’s something we should be continually reminded of. The quote is: ‘Bitterness imprisons life; LOVE releases it.’ Those are true and rather appropriate words of Henry Emerson Fosdick. As we said, there are times when we’re entitled to get angry, but Bruh Paul warned: ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.’ (Eph.4:26-27) So we need to get rid of our anger before we go to bed, and don’t do anything that will give Lucifer pleasure. A serious problem crops up when we don’t follow Bruh Paul’s advice and we keep that anger seething in our soul, until it foments, like yeast and alcohol, then it morphs into bitterness. And that my Friends is one of the worse situations in which we can ever find ourselves, because that bitterness, like acid in a plastic container, will just eat away, continually erode our soul until it drives us stark crazy. We’ll live a turmoil filled life; always sour, impatient, miserable and unhappy, both on the inside and outside. And don’t think you can hide it, for it comes out in our external behaviour. It even makes us more ugly; always wearing a frown or a scowl, while our friends, families and associates try to stay clear of us and our negative behaviour. Please remember my brethren that Jesus said it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of his mouth, that comes from his heart. (Mat.15:17-20) That means whatever is in our hearts will show up in our speech and our behaviour. So if you’re bitter, then you certainly won’t have peace. According to Henry, your life will be imprisoned by the negativity surrounding you. Now our man Job, in light of all the calamity that suddenly befell him, while living a fairly righteous life, had good cause to be angry. The many years of hard work and raising a family were erased in one fell swoop. He had every right to bewail his situation. ‘My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself (give free course to my complaint). Not surprisingly, Job is’nt the only man of great faith to get weary of life and request death. Elijah, after killing all the prophets of Baal was afraid of Jezebel’s death threat and went off to the wilderness and asked to die. ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.’ (I Kings 19:4) But the Lord did not grant his request, just made him rest and eat, then talked with him about his problems. And when Elijah was refreshed in body and renewed in confidence, the Lord gave him more tasks to perform. The same thing happened to Jonah. After he stopped being afraid and finally spread the Lord’s message in Nineveh, he became angry at God’s graciousness to save the city and declared. ‘Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.’ (Jon.4:3) But the Lord didn’t grant his request either, but sat and reasoned with him. Job in his anguish also remonstrates with God, claiming; ‘My soul chooseth strangling, and death, rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity (a breath or vapour) (Job 7:15-16) Read Job 7 Friends and see all the complaints he throws at God. ‘Therefore I will not refrain (restrain) my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.’ (Job 7:11) And he did. Ah my people, it’s hard when it seems like the weight of the whole world has fallen on us, especially when we’re trying to live right. And it’s normal for the human soul to get sad, tired angry and weary, but we must not, NEVER let the negativity take up residence in our souls. We never know what the Lord has planned for us. Sometimes all we need is rest, a respite from the all the confusion around us. And as Henry says, only LOVE will release us from the imprisonment of negativity. And where do we get the best, most beneficial and healing LOVE? From the Most High God Jehovah. And as the hymn advises, when we’re troubled, ‘Take it to the Lord in prayer.’ Yes my people, that’s the only sensible solution. Like Job, Jonah, Elijah and many others did, pour out all your sorrows, troubles and anger to Him. He will understand. He wants us to come to Him with any and all problems. Like a good parent, He’s there to help us with anything at any time. Sometimes we too become sad and bewildered by what’s happening around us, and if we take our troubles to the Lord, He will consider them and find a way to make us right, for he doesn’t want any of us to depart this life before we have achieved the goals, the dreams He’s put in our hearts. Just like all those people of great faith poured out their problems to the Lord and He refreshed and renewed their spirit, then sent them to continue His work with a new vigour, the Lord will do the same with us Friends if we genuinely bewail our troubles to Him. If the negative aspects of life drive us crazy, be assured, be comforted that He will hear our pleas and answer them in the best manner possible. Remember that every thing works together for good to those who LOVE and sincerely seek Him. So let’s try and avoid the negative build up in our souls which will seriously inhibit our ability to work for Jesus. But by the same token, if it does happen, don’t be afraid to cry out to the Lord. Much LOVE!…so the Lord blessed the latter end of Job…more than the beginning.
SCRIP-BITS 