Covington's Calvary

Wise Restraint in God

Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. Proverbs 29:20

READ Proverbs 29:4-11, 20

Following the South’s catastrophic loss at Gettysburg in the American Civil War (1863), General Robert E. Lee led his battered troops back to Southern territory. Heavy rains flooded the Potomac River, blocking his retreat. President Abraham Lincoln urged General George Meade to attack. But Meade’s men were just as weary as Lee’s. He rested his troops.
Lincoln picked up his quill and wrote a letter in which he confessed he was “distressed immeasurably” at Meade’s reluctance to pursue Lee. On the envelope are these words in the president’s handwriting: “To Gen. Meade, never sent, or signed.” And indeed, it never was.
Long before Lincoln, another great leader grasped the importance of reining in our emotions. Anger, no matter how justified, is a dangerously powerful force. “Do you see someone who speaks in haste?” King Solomon asked. “There is more hope for a fool than for them” (Proverbs 29:20). Solomon knew that “by justice a king gives a country stability” (v. 4). He also understood that “fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (v. 11).
And in the end, not sending that letter prevented Lincoln from demoralizing his top general, helped win a necessary war, and contributed to the healing of a nation. We do well to learn from examples like his of wise restraint.
By Tim Gustafson

REFLECT & PRAY
Why is it important to cautiously give vent to your emotions? How will you do this the next time you’re angry?

Father, I give my emotions to You so that Your Spirit will help me avoid speaking in haste.

Our Plans and God’s Plans

“Neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

READ Isaiah 55:8-12

Many years ago, my husband decided to take a trip to Africa with a group of people from his church. At the last minute, the group was prevented from going on its journey. Everyone was disappointed, but the money they’d collected for airfare, lodging, and food was donated to the people they’d tried to visit. The people used it to construct a building that would shelter victims of abuse.
Recently, at a prayer breakfast, my husband met someone who lived in the village he’d almost traveled to so many years ago. This person was a teacher who said he walked by the building every day. He confirmed that God had used it to provide for the most vulnerable people in the area.
Our plans and desires don’t always match what God has in mind. For His “thoughts are not [our] thoughts, neither are [our] ways [His] ways” (Isaiah 55:8). God’s ways aren’t just different from ours; His ways are “higher” and better because what He does is consistent with who He is (v. 9). This truth gives us hope when our efforts to serve Him don’t turn out the way we’d planned.
It might be years before we’re able to look back and trace God’s influence through certain situations. For now, though, as we continue to reach out to the world in His name, we can remember that God is always powerfully at work (v. 11).
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

REFLECT & PRAY
When have you felt disappointed with an experience? How might God use this to teach you something about Himself?

Dear God, You’re the all-knowing one. When I don’t understand what’s happening, please help me to trust You.