"In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold”
Ephesians 4:26
A friend of mine just recently passed on. I haven’t seen him for a very long time, but I remember that he was a really fun person to be with. His passion for worship, music and people has influenced and blessed many. One considerable quality I notice in him was his patience. I’ve never seen him angry or letting his emotions get ahead of him. He was always calm and steady in dealing with any situations, even miserable ones.
We’re all familiar with countless circumstances, where, due to anger, our last words or action to our loved ones or friends turn into our deepest regrets. When the relationship shatters, when friendship falls apart or when the person depart this life, it will be too late to take things back and change.
God’s Word doesn’t forbid us from getting angry, it is an essential part of our emotion, but holding on to anger for too long leads to bitterness, rage, brawling and slander. Holding on to anger turns this essential emotion to sin. We can’t stop the sun from going down, but we can always clear our heads of anger.
This is not easy. Take time to cool off .Put positive and constructive thoughts in your mind. Always remember that it is never worth your time, energy and emotion. Life is short; don’t waste it on being angry.
I’m saddened by my friend’s parting, but I’m proud that he left a legacy of joy and peace with people, by inspiring me to be anger free.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Waiting On God
Genesis 12:2
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”
This is the promise made by God to Abraham when he first left Haran, his ‘home’ country. Before you become a great nation, the first step would be to establish your family. Sorry to say, Abraham only had Isaac, his rightful heir, 25 years later. Talk about progress. Here is a promise, a purpose to be a great nation, and yet the only measurable progress he can see is, 1 son in 25 years. My idea of building myself a nation would be 33 kids in 25 years (estimated 1 child every 9 months). Not realistic and might not be much of a nation, but at least we’d fill up a bus or a village.
We know eventually what the outcome of God’s promise to Abraham is. He indeed became a great nation. Considering that believers of Christ are also Abraham’s seed, his seed are indeed countless as the stars in the sky.
What interests me here is the waiting period, from the moment of the promise until the first sign of fulfillment in the birth of Isaac. I feel that the past 1 year has been a wandering time for both me and my wife. We were always in touch with our purpose, but looking for the next step was a great challenge. Waiting on God was tough.
But considering the adventures and experiences while waiting for the promise; I’ll say that the waiting was all throughout fruitful for Abraham. He had a stint with Pharaoh of Egypt, he fought and won battles, and he also has a successful farming and trading business. He got position, power and wealth. Waiting on God never comes out empty!
This gives me a renewed revelation to keep on waiting on God. I might not see where I’m heading at the moment, but I will count and cherish every blessing and experience that comes my way.
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”
This is the promise made by God to Abraham when he first left Haran, his ‘home’ country. Before you become a great nation, the first step would be to establish your family. Sorry to say, Abraham only had Isaac, his rightful heir, 25 years later. Talk about progress. Here is a promise, a purpose to be a great nation, and yet the only measurable progress he can see is, 1 son in 25 years. My idea of building myself a nation would be 33 kids in 25 years (estimated 1 child every 9 months). Not realistic and might not be much of a nation, but at least we’d fill up a bus or a village.
We know eventually what the outcome of God’s promise to Abraham is. He indeed became a great nation. Considering that believers of Christ are also Abraham’s seed, his seed are indeed countless as the stars in the sky.
What interests me here is the waiting period, from the moment of the promise until the first sign of fulfillment in the birth of Isaac. I feel that the past 1 year has been a wandering time for both me and my wife. We were always in touch with our purpose, but looking for the next step was a great challenge. Waiting on God was tough.
But considering the adventures and experiences while waiting for the promise; I’ll say that the waiting was all throughout fruitful for Abraham. He had a stint with Pharaoh of Egypt, he fought and won battles, and he also has a successful farming and trading business. He got position, power and wealth. Waiting on God never comes out empty!
This gives me a renewed revelation to keep on waiting on God. I might not see where I’m heading at the moment, but I will count and cherish every blessing and experience that comes my way.
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