We can stay spiritually and emotionally healthy by committing all people and situations to the Lord.

Under no circumstances are we to seek to avenge ourselves or even to justify ourselves.

I like King David's attitude toward Shimei, the man who cursed David as he fled from Absalom. Abishai offered to cut off Shimei's head. But David said, "It may be that the Lord will look on my distress and will return good to me for his cursing this day." (Solomon took care of Shimei at a later time.)

David committed his way to the Lord instead of giving Abishai permission to kill Shimei on the spot.

Here is a lesson for all of us. When people curse us let us turn to the Lord instead of attempting to justify ourselves. This way we can keep a happy heart, like Isaac. God will bring forth our righteousness as the light and our judgment as the noonday if we don't avenge or justify ourselves.

Let 'em have the well! I want the birds to keep singing in my heart.

How about you?

To be able to rest in the Lord and to wait patiently for Him—this is the mark of Christian maturity as I see it.

One cannot possibly enter the Kingdom of God apart from the exercise of considerable patience. We pray, do the will of God, and then wait! wait! wait!

Satan tempts us to jump off the gable of the Temple. Satan urges us to come down from the cross. "Come down you loser. Can't you see everyone is prospering except you?"

Lately there has been a rash of teaching that we can have what we want now if we will exercise "faith." This teaching is so opposed to the way of God that it is not worth further discussion.

We enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation. Tribulation works patience. Patience works its perfect work in us.

God did not put us in this world to be happy but to learn the ways of God. This fact is not widely understood. People seek happiness when they should be seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. One cannot pursue happiness in this world without losing his integrity, without betraying other people, without sinning against God.

God wants us to be happy and we shall know the fullness of joy at His right hand. But first we must come to know the Lord. If we would know the Lord we must submit to His rending and tearing of us and then the bandaging and healing. There is no other way to get acquainted with God.

When we decide to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him we find ourselves surrounded with people who are prospering far more than we. Yet they sometimes are bending the rules. We place ourselves at a disadvantage by waiting for God. Other's charge ahead "doing God's work."

We are not speaking of passivity. Waiting on the Lord is not a passive state in which we flop around waiting for "the Spirit to move us." The person that takes this approach will soon find himself in classic deception, unable to make a clear decision about anything.

To be continued.