Have you ever had an instance where you are riding high, having a good day getting things done and all of a sudden someone says the wrong thing? Kills your Spirit, your drive and any ambition to do what you were just so certain was going to be successful?
Well I have. It's hard to get over, it's hard to focus. In fact it is probably the sin of your very own reaction to the incident that is killing your Spirit and yet we will blame the other person. We will be so "righteously"angry that we fail to see that we are exacerbating the situation. When someone says the wrong thing you are not responsible., but when your reaction is negative, angry, or less than it should be that is when you have erred.
There is an incident in the Bible of a situation when a terse word almost got an entire family exterminated and a kind word (plus gifts!!!) finally turned it around.
1 Samuel 25:9-25 KJV
9 And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
10 And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
12 So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Proverbs 15:1-3King James Version (KJV)
15 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Well I have. It's hard to get over, it's hard to focus. In fact it is probably the sin of your very own reaction to the incident that is killing your Spirit and yet we will blame the other person. We will be so "righteously"angry that we fail to see that we are exacerbating the situation. When someone says the wrong thing you are not responsible., but when your reaction is negative, angry, or less than it should be that is when you have erred.
There is an incident in the Bible of a situation when a terse word almost got an entire family exterminated and a kind word (plus gifts!!!) finally turned it around.
1 Samuel 25:9-25 KJV
9 And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
10 And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
12 So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Now what we see here is a man on the run (David) and he and his men were hungry. He sent his men to the owner to politely ask for some help. Nabal ,being a rich man, could have helped David and never missed what little he would have given. After all David was the anointed of God, the next king of Israel. But he did not. He spoke in a condescending, bitter tone. That was where things went bad.
So far we have one bad reaction. That was sin on Nabal's part, not to mention exceptionally stupid.
David had been keeping this man's possessions safe and all that he had was secure because of David's forces. David got angry. David moved to take firm justice against this man who so lightly regarded him.
Fortunately for Nabal he had married a smart woman who saved his bacon. She took the gifts, that should have been given in the first place, to meet David and assauge his guilt.
She poured water on the fire of his anger and settled him down.
So what we see here is what a wrong reaction can do. Nabal almost cost himself everything he owned because he was too busy playing "big man" or "top dog" that he failed to see what was really going on.. His words, his reaction were almost the end of him.
Remember this: the words and actions against you are not your responsibility. Your reaction to those incidents are.
Your reactions can kill your spirit, kill your testimony, ruin your day, even your fellowship with God,
The worst part is you have allowed someone to affect you in such a large manner, and they probably won't even take notice of what they did.
In the grand scheme of things be accountable for you and your actions/reactions. Do not allow some one to so influence you.
Proverbs 15:1-3King James Version (KJV)
15 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
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