Okay I admit….I’ve been still struggling with road rage….the last few weeks hasn’t been easy and the other day, I went off….The ironic thing is that earlier that day, I’d read the passage from Our Daily Bread about how a “so-called” courteous driver allowed another driver in front of him and because the receiving driver didn’t nod or wave, the other one kind of went berserk! When I finished reading it, I remember thinking how completely unnecessary his actions were. Yet, I succumbed to the same idiocy not an hour later! What’s worse is that my 11 year old daughter bore witness to my antics…
So…if I may explain...
I was attempting to exit I-630 right in the middle of a hard-hat war zone…the woman in the car to my right was cruising in my blind spot and was attempting to do the opposite. I saw her so I guess she wasn’t really in my blind spot, but she was obviously not paying attention to me. Anyway…she nearly side-swiped me with a quick left and my mouth followed suit…let’s just say I had a moment…
…Not a good one, but still a moment. Immediately I said, ” I need to get in the word” My daughter responded, almost sighing, “We all do, but I think you need to eat the whole bible!” She was laughing when she said it, but clearly the last few minutes had been no laughing matter.
Years ago, the Lord showed me that cursing was beneath me and as if some light bulb was ignited, I just sort of stopped doing it. Along with the urge to curse, went my tendency to gossip (yes people, listening to it counts too), and my desire to argue. I also no longer cared for the “liquid courage” that held me captive for years either so what happened? As soon as I thought the question, the answer came to mind…
… I knew that James said it but didn’t know where. Arriving home, I felt horrible for two reasons.
#1 I felt like I’d failed God.
#2 I felt like I’d failed my daughter.
So reluctantly I peeled back the pages to reveal the truth I avoided for so long…
James 3:9-11(NLV)
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
- One guy called saying that he and his wife struggled with prioritizing and that he seemed too busy for regular time with God…my prayer for him included a reminder that prayer is merely a conversation with God…that we should MAKE the time for Him…
- A mother wanted her relationship with her son and her mother to improve…she was seeking approval for the way she’d been handling things.
- A wife called pleading for improved communication with her husband…
- Still another woman mentioned a portion of a verse that hit home…She said she knows the enemy must flee if she resists him. Immediately I corrected her stating, “so many of us get that verse wrong. It says that we are first to submit to God, resist the devil, and he must flee!”
I know now that I was not speaking on my own authority or my own thoughts. Who was I to judge? I know now that the Holy Spirit was leading me to assist them while assisting myself.
John 16:13 (NLT)
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
I’ve always known that too much junk food negatively affects the physical body, but, now I also know the same is true for my spiritual body. So the past aside, I’m re-learning to be a picky eater.
Better Not Bitter 
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