Daily In The Word – Feb. 16 – Lack of Honey and Self-Control
Happy Friday! I had a lot of trouble picking the topic to discuss from my reading as there was so much great stuff that appeared in my study today. I ultimately decided to discuss patience but in a way that is slightly different than you might expect. As I have said many times, I am not the most patient person, I will often find myself waving my hand as one of my children stops and starts what they are trying to say. I have learned to follow up with saying something like “Okay, now breathe, think about what you want to say and try again.” Unfortunately, I did not do this with my oldest daughter for many years and now she often finds it hard to talk to me because she’s afraid I will get tired of waiting on her to put her thoughts together. I wish with all I have that I would not have done this when she was just about to reach her teenage years because it is the time when she will need to speak to me the most but may not do so because she’s pre-loaded to expect me to cut her off. Part of my reading warns me about this: “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” (Proverbs 16:24, NLT) and my lack of patience makes my words very unlike honey. Now, we return to patience. I have found that patience, is often an offshoot of self-control and I often felt that if I was impatient with something, it might happen sooner or I will be able to regain control of a situation faster. This, however, is rarely the case. I am learning, to exercise more self-control in my speech and deeds but I fear that it may be too little too late sometimes. Learning to control yourself and be patient with those around you is a key topic that came out of my reading today: “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall” (Proverbs 16:32-33, NLT). No matter how impatient I am and whether or not I see this as good or bad, it does not help me. I must learn to wait on God’s timing and plan so I don’t conquer the wrong city.