Certain crises can be anticipated and contingency plans can be made for them. But in reality, the real crises are the ones that take us by surprise; those that are well disguised and packaged to look more like coincidences than dire situations.
Today, I had an encounter which left me very flustered and annoyed. At that very moment, all I wanted to do was fight back. I felt indignant and made a fool of. And just as I was on my way to the confrontation, I garnered all the inner strength I had and somehow decided to hold back on lashing out those negativities. For the time being at least.
Later in the day, as I pondered more deeply on this, I began to see myself in that desert where Jesus had been tempted. And there, I saw how this situation was like a carrot tangled by the devil, just waiting for me to bite. And that made me realise how difficult it is to spot these tangling baits and overcome them.
It has been particularly difficult for me today because despite knowing this fact, I still felt the need to retaliate and speak up. But all I could do was bite my lips and learn to love. As of now, I still feel flustered, annoyed, indignant, foolish, and suppressed (perhaps constipated would be a better word). But I guess I need to constantly remember to be more like Jesus - refraining from the need to justify myself and prove a point.
Based on Matthew 4:1-11
- posted on behalf of Joann Chia
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