Proverbs 7:19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

I got excited at church yesterday. Talking to a couple of the members I found myself in a familiar place of excitement. I was not sure exactly why I was so excited until this morning as I pondered this blog. The year was 1967 and I had spent the last 11 months in Vietnam. I got caught up in the every day. I wasn’t aware of the day or the month. Suddenly my Sargent came up to me and said, “You are going home.”

I took my weapon and jumped on the jeep. The driver looked at me and asked, “What about your stuff?” My answer was simple direct and now so meaningful. “Where I am going I won’t need any of those things.” I was going home and the only thing that held any meaning for me awaited me there.

Yesterday I got a glimpse at the promise of God to bring us back at the end of this journey to a place He had prepared for us in the beginning. It was so obvious, so clear, so desirable, I forgot all about the cares of this world. In my heart there was nothing keeping me here, nothing I would need or could take home with me. The sound of my Master’s voice held new meaning. “Come enter into my joy.”

I woke up this morning, still on that long journey. I have not reached the end yet, but I know what awaits me at the end. I am going home.

Revelation 22:1-5 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

1 Samuel 15:14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

Do passages like this trouble you? God is good, how can evil come from God? Passages like these feed troubled souls who deny God. They seek to vilify their denial by saying God is evil. What they say is spiteful and wounds us. Do you have an answer for such accusations?

If you look to the word for spirit you will see that the same word is used in both cases, in the Hebrew, ruwach. While some would argue it is the same spirit, they do err. There is a huge difference between the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of man. God breathed life into man, He did not make man God. One of the base definitions of ruwach is breath, but it is not the only definition. One of those definitions is disposition. Specifically disposition (of various kinds) uncontrollable, or uncontrollable impulse.

The Spirit of God is God and is not controlled by man. Once the Spirit of the Lord departs man is left with nothing but is own disposition, his own uncontrollable impulses. These are the impulses Saul was born with and we delegated to a secondary and suppressed nature by the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. When the constrainer is removed, man is left with nothing but his own disposition.

If conclusions drawn by the text you are reading lead you to an understanding of God that is something other than foundational truths about God, then your understand is imperfect and further prayerful study is required. The five foundational truths about God are: God is love, God is holy, God is just, God is merciful and God is true. Scoffers will not seek to understand. We as believers should.

Proverbs 25:26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.