A New You
A man struggled with a bad temper, which he blamed on others. He said nobody could cope with such people as he had to deal with. He decided to “leave the world” and become a hermit, thinking this would solve his problem.
He moved into a cave in the woods, far from anyone. In the morning, he took his glass jug to a spring to get water for the day. The rock where he placed the jug to catch water was mossy and the steady flow of water had made it slippery. He set the jug down under the stream, but it slid off the rock. He put the jug back, and again it slipped off. He repeated this a few times, each time getting more irritated.
Finally, his patience ran out. “Stay!” he shouted, as he picked up the jug … and set it down so hard that it shattered. Horrified, he knew that there was no one to blame but himself.
He finally saw that his problem wasn’t the world around him. It was the world inside of him.
How do we deal with our internal “world”? The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the solution: “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1.4). The “evil age” refers to all the garbage that humans get into.
Thankfully, there is rescue. The psalmist prayed: “…you have freed me from my chains” (Psalm 116.16).
How do we find this freedom? Start by praying, “Lord, I need your help. I need forgiveness. I
need power for a new life. I can’t do it on my own. Please help me.” God’s solution is available to you.
By Barry Kimbrough
Pastor, Gold Beach, Brookings, and Cave Junction Seventh-day Adventist Churches
