Big `n small

The great soul prays, "Lord, make me as big as my problem." The little soul prays, "Lord, let me off easy." The giant soul asks, "Lord, give me strength sufficient for a hard day," while the small soul begs, "Lord, let me have a lighter load." The busy soul prays, "Lord, stand with me until I finish my task," while the weak soul says, "I got tired and quit." ( author unknown ) Psa 18:25 On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; 26 He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge. 27 For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but eyes full of pride will be made low. 28 You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me. 29 By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in; by the help of my God I have gone over a wall. 30 As for God, his way is completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith in him. A Short fable I read: “Two goats met one another upon a narrow plank set up across a river, so that they could not pass by without one thrusting the other off. If they were human beings they would argue who had the right to survive. But the goats figured it all out, how one could help the other and, at the same time, help itself. One lay down, and let the other leap over it.” How often do we consider ourselves, way to important to concede or admit? Admit our shortcomings and our ability to fail. Pride will so often come and stand in the way of even our victories. Some situations that we faced could have turned out so differently, if we just could put our pride out of the way. In the fable of the two goats, both came out of the situation victorious. The one that lay down, did not admit defeat, no, he contributed to the victory. To `bend down` in order to help someone up, is perhaps the best thing we can do for ourselves. A missionary in Jamaica was once questioning some little boys on the meaning of Mat_5:5 and asked, "Who are the meek?" A boy answered, "Those who give soft answers to rough questions." We shall do well to remember this child's definition. The one who has wisdom in his head and heart does not need to shout at others. Wisdom speaks softly and persuasively, instead of impelling and forcing. Through the use of our tongues people will know whether we are wise or not. As that great theologian, Charles Hodge, said, "The doctrines of grace humble a man without degrading him and exalt him without inflating him."