Are You A Smoldering Volcano?

There have been times in my life when I've kept my mouth closed on an issue that upset me, but I was seething below the surface with anger and frustration. Or worse yet, I discussed the problem with a few close friends and kept a fire of irritation brewing inside of me with the winds of gossip. If there was a checklist for things that are the opposite of love, these two items would be on it: seething and gossiping!

1Cor 13:7 says "love bears all things." That means 'to cover with silence' while taking it before the Lord. There's a difference between putting a blanket on something to smother or silence it, and suppressing it so it smolders and seethes under the surface. Suppressing isn't dealing with a problem, it just covers it and turns the toxic fumes to the inside of a person. There is the grave danger of moving into bitterness when we soak in seething.

There is no condemnation to the person who seeks the counsel of a beloved Christian friend in a discreet manner. However, the person who is seeking justification for their seething feelings will take their issues to many people and begin a circle of dis-content. If you find yourself at this point it's a necessity to get on your knees before the Lord and ask Him to cleanse you of the ill feelings and motives and help you to walk in love. Dis-content is like a pair of glasses one wears which changes the joy of the Lord into a war zone.

Handle problems quickly so the enemy cannot infest your heart with dis-content. Rid yourself of feelings of irritation as you sit before the Lord and get His perspective. If you have these negative feelings you cannot also have the joy of the Lord - these things block out the clarity of God's voice and word in your life.

There are some situations in life that only God can correct - some of them have to do with our issues and some have to do with the issues of others. Remember that you have the Holy Spirit to convict you of yours sins, not the sins of the rest of the world. You may be able to discern the sins of others, but God has to do the convicting.