Have you ever forgotten something important? A Birthday Celebration … An Anniversary … An Appointment … A Homework Assignment … A Promise Made … A Lesson Learned!
This week I have had two such experiences. One of them was violating a principle of communication that I hold dearly, teach to others, and yet relearned in a painful way this week. My violation was to respond too quickly to someone else’s comments. The Bible states emphatically, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19 TNIV). In our high tech world this scripture also applies to texting, e-mail, facebook, and tweeting!
The second is the importance of trusting in God’s power and might and not my own. I was feeling a bit stressed with some upcoming deadlines and challenges and I read the following in my morning Bible reading, “So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty”(Zechariah 4:6 NIV).
As I read this reminder to the 500 BC Jewish leader, Zerubbabel, I could have easily substituted my name in his place (even if I had trouble pronouncing his name). In reading this Bible verse I was humbled once again to rely on the LORD’s strength and not my own. Now as I reflected on what a “great find” this was in scripture, I noticed that this “new find” was underlined in my Bible, which means that I had “learned” this lesson in the past and yet I needed to learn it all over again!
Maybe this life of following Jesus isn’t so difficult to understand, but it is simply remembering to do what has been learned! Now … can you and I remember that lesson?
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