Category: Words of Wisdom

We praise God not only when we work. We praise Him also when in great faith and love, we receive all His blessings and rest.

The apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught. He said to them, “You come apart into a deserted place, and rest awhile.” For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. – Mark 6, WEBBE

Sometimes, the most productive thing to do is what seems to be the least productive. Instead of running, it is resting. Instead of pushing yourself beyond your limits, it is taking good care of yourself.

It is taking the time to breathe, to play and to be young again. It is receiving all the blessings meant to be showered upon you. It is laughing and watching the world go by. It is being with the people who matters most to you.

We are not always being called upon to give. At times, all that is needed of us is to receive all the good things God has long wanted to bestow upon us.

It isn’t easy to feel less guilty for the sins I said I didn’t know.

My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens. -Ezra 9, WEBBE

Are they sins? Or must I ask what else they are? If we do not know them, then surely we did not mean them! And we shouldn’t feel guilty at all?

But what are sins? Are they only the wrong things we intended to do?

But what of the things we thought were right but have hurt another? Things that have caused great pain?

What do I call them? The sins I didn’t know?

May God be praised for His mercy for He has had patience with me with all my offences. How many times have I hurt Him without knowing what I was doing?

O how great is His Love, how great is His Mercy! For the countless times I failed, He never left, and He loved me just the same.

I cannot see the saint in you unless I see clearly the sinner that is in me.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love… – Ephesians 4, WEBBE

We grow in humility when we grow in truth, when we realize how short-sighted we are, and how shallow our knowledge is as compared with God’s wisdom and perspective.

Quite often, we see only ourselves, and we compare our righteousness with what we see in others. But we do not see what others are going through. We do not see their goodwill. We do not know the chances they were given as compared to the many opportunities we have received.

O, that God may open our eyes so we may know more of the wounds of our neighbor. That we may even have a glimpse of the suffering our enemies!

Maybe then will come to realize how quickly we have judged. We will see how easily we have filled our hearts with wrath when we could have filled it with mercy and compassion and love.

Instead of judging one another in ignorance, why not try to understand one another in love?

LORD, you have searched me,
and you know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
-Psalm 139, WEBBE

Each person is different. We have our own set of learnings and experiences that helped shape who we are. We were born with certain strengths and weaknesses. We were gifted with different temperaments, motivations and tendencies. We have a unique way of seeing things and coping through life.

Must we be surprised then if we cannot please everyone? If we cannot be easily understood?

Why must we feel so down when we do not meet another person’s expectations? And why expect from someone what we can only expect from ourselves?

Only God knows who we really are and what we are capable of. It is His opinion of us that truly counts.

God is patient and gentle with us because He knows how quickly we bleed.

Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows how we are made.
He remembers that we are dust.
-Psalm 103, WEBBE

God can be patient with us first of all because of the greatness of His love. He is love Himself, He is patience Himself. He created us in love and imprinted upon us His own image, an image of love.

When sin corrupted that image, God also knew how far we have fallen from holiness and perfection.

He knows our weaknesses and our ignorance. He understands our pain. He knows how hard we try and how often we fail.

This does not exempt us from sins we are well aware of, however. (Jesus often criticized those who were hypocrites, those who deny their sins.)

Yet even with these He still had patience with. Up to our very last breath, God bears with us, for He knows that we are but dust. We are not like the fallen angels who are spirit and who knew far more than we do about God.

Let us treat our fellowmen the same way, with great patience, and remembering too, that we know not what’s in the heart of another, for only God can weigh the human heart.