The LORD Our Sanctuary

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, faults and particular sins they are bent towards.  This morning I experienced a culmination of circumstances which led to me losing my temper.  I allowed feelings of frustration over my own mistakes while baking that resulted in a seething rage.  There are at least two things I despise:  my own foolish mistakes, and wasting good ingredients.  Throwing away what could have been delicious baked goods provoked a grit your teeth, sputtering, white-hot anger that begged to be released on the world easily justified in the moment under the guise of the unexpected problems I faced.

Looking back, my angry reaction was completely unjustified.  It meant I needed to use twice the amount of ingredients and needed to make an unplanned trip to the shops where there were ingredients in abundance I could afford to purchase.  It occurred to me that anger will not be reasoned with, and it prefers cursing over blessing.  We can try to ignore the fact anger prompted cursing in our minds, but better to recognise our need to repent even if we exercised self-control not to utter them.  The need to take thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ suggests they did not arise from a pure heart but one corrupted by fleshly impulses.  Better to repent of sin than pretend we are pure in ourselves.  Just yesterday I read an amazing encouragement by William Gurnall in The Christian in Complete Armour:

"A heathen could say, when a bird scared by a hawk flew into his bosom, I will not betray thee unto thy enemy, seeing thou comest for sanctuary unto me.  How much less will God yield up a soul unto its enemy when it takes sanctuary in his name, saying, 'Lord, I am hunted with such a temptation, dogged with such a lust, either thou must pardon or I am damned; mortify it, or I shall be a slave to it; take me into the bosom of thy love, for Christ's sake; castle me in the arms of thy everlasting strength, it is in thy power to save me from, or give me up into, the hands of my enemy.  I have no confidence in myself or any other; into thy hands I commit my cause, my life, and rely on thee.'  This dependence of a soul undoubtedly will awaken the almighty power of God for such an one's defense."  (Gurnall, William. The Christian in Complete Armour. Banner of Truth Trust, 1987. page 30)

How great is the need of Christians for Christ!  I have made the mistake of ignoring my own sinful thoughts or selfish attitudes like I would a passerby on the street rather than owning the anger, cursing and frustration as sin to be repented of myself.  God is gracious to reveal His righteousness and our sinfulness so we might repent and be restored to fellowship with Him and one another.  See, my problem was not that an important ingredient was omitted or wasted:  this was God's solution to reveal the problem of my sin already inside me so I might humble myself before Him so he might "take me into the bosom of His love" and "castle me in the arms of His everlasting strength."  Are not His ways and thoughts higher than ours?  Is not His almighty power greater than our sin?  We are wise to humbly seek sanctuary in our LORD Jesus Who saves.