of us every day. We can’t follow our Saviour’s will if we are only living on our past. Do not feed on past situa tions and make that the center of your life. You will be miserable if you do. The fourth course in this unsual “meal” is taken from where it tells us that God gave the people “worm wood” to eat. Have you ever had any? Wormwopd is extremely bitter and unpalatable. Do you eat the bitter things in your life? Someone may have cheated you out of some inherit ance. You have hated them for it. Maybe even the little things make you bitter. As you drive up to park someone darts in ahead of you. How bitter you become. You know, you can find out a lot about a person’s real self when you watch him behind the car’s steering wheel! Again, some thing your neighbor does either pur posely or accidental, may set you off. Oh, how bitter some people become. They don’t forget it, either. They continually feast on the bitter worm wood. The Lord doesn’t want this to be characteristic of our lives. We are redeemed and should be new men and women in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). The fifth course in this strange diet is foolishness. In Proverbs 15:14 we read that “they fed on foolishness.” Some people are certainly like this. When you see them, they are always up to some foolishness. I knew a man who, when I saw him coming, I went across the street. He never seemed to have any interest in things which are essential. No one could get anything from him as a help for his heart. Think of the television programs which seem to gain the interest and attention of the world. They are mostly foolishness. As we have seen this strange and unhappy five-course diet, I trust if any of these are familiar to you that you will go to Him of Whom the Psalmist spoke when he said, “0 taste and see that the Lord is good.” Our desire should be that we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 4
He isn’t interested in getting my views at all. That, of course, is a human trait of which many of us are guilty. This is what the Spirit of God meant when He used Hosea to write, “He shall feed on wind.” It is a poor reputation to be known as one who always likes to talk, especially when it is about himself! The third dish some people feed on is tears. That is a very strange word taken from Psalms 42:3 and 80:9. It has reference to those who live on past experiences, failures, and “would have beens.” A woman came to me one day at the end of a meeting. She was so broken up. She pleaded, “Oh, Dr. Wilson, will you pray for me?” Of course I told her I would be glad to, if she would tell me the cause of her sorrow.” She pro ceeded, “I lost my dear husband.” I could sympathize with her, for this isn’t easy for anyone to go through. I asked her when it was that it had happened. She replied, “Oh, it was 21 years ago.” She was still grief strick en and weeping unconsolably. Now, the loss of a loved one, especially a Christian mate, is never easy. But to live continually on tears is folly! Tears are certainly necessary, for they come to all of our hearts, but we can’t feed on them. There needs to be a time when these sorrows are given to our lovely Lord. He wants us to burden Him with that which bur dens us (I Peter 5:7). When all you have are griefs and tears you are no good to anybody. You can’t carry an other person’s sorrows. Only the Lord can remove the weight as we are willing to turn it over to Him. This is the only way He can take it. The Lord gave me a wonderful com panion. Together we shared 49 years of happy home life before she was called to glory. Yet, there is a man we know who is grieving over something which took place 52 years ago. I said, “My dear friend, are you getting any good out of this thing? Do the tears help you to face each new day?” No, he seemed to want to dwell on the past when the Lord had something better for him. That is the same with each
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