Anger Can Cause Us To Miss God’s Blessings
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 2
Kings 5:13. {CTr 170.1}
I often think of the case of Naaman. He wished a great
blessing, even cleansing from leprosy. Hearing of the power of Elisha the
prophet, he went to him, to know what he might do to be healed. And Elisha sent
him the message “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come
again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. {CTr 170.2}
“But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I
thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the
Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are
not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a
rage. {CTr 170.3}
(often we think we know better what would be best for us)
“And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? {CTr
170.4}“Then went he down, and dipped himself in Jordan seven times, according
to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh
of a little child, and he was clean.” {CTr 170.5}
Each soul inherits certain un-Christlike traits of character.
It is the grand and noble work of a lifetime to keep under control these
tendencies to wrong. It is the little things that cross our path that are
likely to cause us to lose our power of self-control. {CTr 170.6}
The Lord will honor those who in this life have been faithful in the little things. . . .
They will not be found wanting when the greater tests come to them. Those who
honor God in the smaller duties of the daily life will develop into men and
women of sound judgment. Whatever trial may come to them, they will stand firm
for the right. {CTr 170.7}
God will understand you as you open your heart to
Him. He knows what discipline each one needs. If you ask Him, He will surely
give you power to resist evil. Your faith will be increased, and you will give
evidence to others of the keeping power of God.—Letter 123, 1904. {CTr 170.8}
The Tangled Web Of Sinning
But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said . . .
I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. 2 Kings 5:20. {CTr 171.1}
It is seldom that one sin will stand alone
or be restricted in the range of transgression to one precept or one
prohibition of the moral law. There is ever a complication of disobedience,
which leads the perverted conscience to a greater length of entanglement by
entering to greater temptations and sinning more and more. . . . {CTr 171.2}
The heart not given entirely to the control of Jesus Christ
has a door open for Satan to enter, and the archdeceiver weaves about the soul
ingenious apologies in performing its hidden purposes of evil. All these
excuses and pretensions are seen of God, and are as spiderwebs in the eyes of
Him who never slumbers or sleeps. Oh, how readily will the human soul find poor
and wretched excuses to deceive and cover up its own course of evil, which it
pursues. There is an exact judge who weigheth actions. He cannot be deceived, neither
can He be mocked. He will one day strike off the covering, unveil the
conscience, and sweep away these excuses as smoke. {CTr 171.3}
The Lord God hath a witness to every transaction. Elisha’s
reproof to Gehazi when he denied having left to follow Naaman was: “Whence
comest thou, Gehazi?” The answer is “Thy servant went no whither.” Then the
stern reproof came that showed he knew all. “Went not mine heart with thee,
when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to
receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and
sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of
Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever.” The Lord had
revealed the whole matter. The interview with Naaman, the minutest incidents of
the scene, were accurately presented before him. Oh, the workings of the powers
of darkness are so deceiving! {CTr 171.4}
Elisha revealed to Gehazi the very thoughts of his heart, and
that he would enrich himself with the earthly treasure from Naaman. There was a
man who should have been a standard-bearer in the army of the Lord, [but]
through Satan’s temptations his course of action was a stumbling block to
Naaman, upon whose mind a wonderful light had broken and he was favorably
disposed toward truth, to serve the living God. Gehazi went from his presence a
leper. The Lord calls upon you to seek His counsel, to be true to your own soul
and to God, and to seek most earnestly to recover yourself and your children
from Satan’s snares.—Letter 22, 1893. {CTr 171.5}