"OOOO I AM SO INCREDIBLY ANGRY!"
I felt myself 'going down' into the pit, taking the bait, caught in the trap that Satan had so subtly laid out especially for me. The buttons were being pushed and I was losing ground, not doing much to stop myself from going under. My heart started racing and my breathing became heavy. Let's just say, I had reverted back to the 'old' man...
I had crossed the proverbial "line".
"Well, well, well, CONGRATULATIONS 'OLD MAN'!!! You have successfully accomplished exactly what the devil set out for us to do! Something hurtful that would cause lasting damage. Way to go Old Man!!!"
Coming to my senses, I suddenly realized that my anger had become sin at a record rate. I took a few deep breaths and the Lord brought a classic "anger" story from the Bible to my mind. It was the story about Moses disobeying God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it as commanded, and thereby losing his blessing of actually making it into the promised land.
"Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts [also]. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Numbers 20:8-12
With my breathing and heart-rate slowly returning to normal, I began talking to the Lord. "God, you get angry, don't you? You must know how to control it, or we wouldn't be here! (breath in, breath out) Thank you Lord for not giving us what we deserve! Wow...I can't begin to imagine just how great your wrath could be! Thank you SO much for your Mercy!". At that moment I felt as though he was speaking to my heart saying, "Yes, daughter, you are created in My Image, and that includes the ability to control your anger, too."
Did Jesus ever get angry? Yes, He got angry when men came into His Father's House and made it a 'den of thieves'. He got angry because they were buying and selling an making a mockery of the House of Prayer. There were probably times that Jesus would just give a look of displeasure, and that would be sufficient, but there were times when His Father's good name was being dishonored and he had to stand for Truth.
"Yes, daughter, ... that includes the ability to control your anger, too."
But how? How are we to control our anger? Well... how are we to do anything according to His Will? He gives us a complete instruction book with everything we need to accomplish everything He has set out for us to do.
THE BIBLE
God's Holy Word!
Here are two of many weapons in the Scriptures that we may use as we seek to control our anger.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2Cor10:3-5
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.Phl 4:13
Lord, please help me to see my own anger for what it is and other's anger through Your Eyes. Help me to recall the scriptures I need that would best help me not to 'fall into the pit'of anger. Thank you again for your Grace and Mercy in turning your anger from us. Thank you for your Son Jesus, who took your wrath upon Himself so that we may be forgiven and justified. Help me to kneel at the foot of the cross every day and live a "cross-driven" life.
No comments:
Post a Comment