Proverbs 14:10
|
The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
|
You are a unique individual, just as every snowflake is different. The depths of bitterness and heights of joy that you feel cannot be fully known or appreciated by others. Your heart, soul, mind, and conscience create a private set of feelings and thoughts that are known only by you and your Creator. Others cannot discover or define your true feelings.
Anguish and pain in your soul from circumstances, fear, guilt, or hopelessness are your personal property and cannot be felt or understood by a stranger, any one outside yourself. Neither can a stranger, any one outside your soul, grasp and appreciate the joy of your heart, when you are enraptured by circumstances, hope, love, or success.
No friend can grasp the extent of your feelings, regardless of how sympathetic. No psychologist can identify or measure your grief or happiness, or the true causes of them. No pastor can fully explain your doubts, desires, or other heart matters. You are alone in the universe with your own soul. No one else can help much, for the combined factors that form his feelings and thoughts are totally different from yours, or anyone else's.
The proverb is an observation by Solomon about human existence. Paul confirmed the observation, when he wrote, "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" (I Cor 2:11.) Each person is a unique individual with very real feelings, both negative and positive, that cannot be felt, defined, or measured by any other person. You must meditate carefully to find the lessons of this general observation.
Accept that others cannot grasp your grief or happiness, which often causes confusion or neglect. Forgive them! And the opposite is just as true: you cannot accurately know or sympathize with others. Forgive them as well for the intense feelings that alter their appearance or conduct! Therefore, there needs to be a great deal of sensitivity and tolerance in dealing with others. Charity is essential (I Cor 13:4-7). The golden rule is indispensable (Luke 6:31). Sympathy must be practiced (Rom 12:15; Heb 10:24; 13:3).
Consider examples. Eli missed Hannah's bitter soul (I Sam 1:10-16). Gehazi could not see the Shunamite's vexation (II Kgs 4:27). Job's three friends were miserable comforters (Job 13:4; 16:2). Our Lord's three chosen disciples neglected the Man of Sorrows in His deepest grief (Mark 14:32-42). And Paul had to defend himself to Corinth (II Cor 12:15)!
Michal despised David for his uninhibited worship, because her carnal and shallow soul could not understand David's joy and love for God (II Sam 6:16,20). She loved the public man of war (I Sam 18:20), but despised the religious man of God (I Sam 13:14). What were the consequences? She lost her husband and her future in Israel by her foolish and naïve insensitivity (II Sam 6:21-23). She should have allowed for his exuberant holiness.
It is your duty to think about others and be sensitive to their possible feelings and thoughts, either negative or positive. There is more to every man or woman than what meets the eye. Look closer! Woe to the man whose wife sheds tears outwardly or inwardly for marital treachery (Mal 2:10-16; Col 3:19; I Pet 3:7)! Woe to the woman whose husband is defrauded of that love and intimacy that his body craves (I Cor 7:1-5)!
Woe to critical parents who discourage their children and crush their souls with constant correction (4:3; 31:2; Col 3:21)! Woe to insensitive employers (29:21; Deut 24:14-15; Eph 6:9)! Woe to the pastor who roughly treats his church members (I Thess 2:7; I Pet 5:3)! Woe to the man who ignores the poor (21:13; 29:7; Job 31:13-22)! Woe to the man who does not think about possible offences and correct them (Matt 5:21-26)!
But there is a better lesson! Though no other mere human can relate to your spirit, there is a Counselor and Friend that can! The Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, God with us, is touched with the feelings of your infirmities, and He has experienced all the temptations you will ever face (Heb 4:12-15). He is able to help you at your darkest hour of need (Heb 2:18), and He can supply peace that passes human understanding (Phil 4:7).
The only true joy man can experience is God's gift by His eternal Spirit (Gal 5:22-23; Rom 15:13; Eccl 5:20). There is no foolish grinning or foaming froth with this joy, for it is God speaking directly to your soul at a level where no else can intermeddle. Men walking with God can dance in economic disaster (Hab 3:17-19), and they can sing in an inner prison, after being publicly stripped and beaten (Acts 16:22-25). They can find internal encouragement, even when their best friends want to stone them (I Sam 30:6).
Do you have cares? Our proverb teaches that others cannot know them. But if you cast your cares on Him, He cares for you like no other (I Pet 5:7). Are you laboring? Others cannot help carry much. But He can give rest for your soul (Matt 11:28-30). He can be your exceeding joy and your exceeding great reward (Gen 15:1; Ps 43:4). You can talk to Him at any hour of the day or night, and He will always listen and help (Ps 62:8; 142:2).
When you are overwhelmed, then God Himself will be your Friend (Ps 61:2; 142:3). He has all your tears in a bottle: He does not miss one of them, either inside or outside (Ps 56:8). You can pour out your heart to Him (Ps 62:8). Since He can help in the bitterness of your soul, and He can provide heavenly joy, whom else do you need (Ps 73:25-26)? Do not trust in others for your comfort or joy, for only He truly knows and loves you.
www.letgodbetrue.com
