When You are Angry...Wait!

WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY…WAIT!

Proverbs 14:17
A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of evil devices is hated. (NASB)

Something that I have learned the hard way is that the best response to something when I am angry is to wait. It’s not what I want to do. It isn’t what comes naturally. My first reaction is to charge ahead…to defend myself…to deal harshly with whatever or whoever has brought that anger to bear. I have hurt and been hurt as a result of this reaction to anger. But, anger is a part of life…at least a part of my life…so what should we do when we are angry.

Well, this morning I picked up a little book that I had purchased last week for use in the devotionals on our upcoming Wednesday nights when we resume our fellowship suppers. It’s called Proverbs to Live By. The first verse I read was Proverbs 14.17. In some ways it was a lot like a slap in the face.

The thing that immediately stood out to me was that the result of angry actions is foolishness. My experience bears that out. In fact…now that I think about it…when I respond in anger to something I realize now that it makes me look foolish. So, this may be on one of those issues where I need to take my own advice…practice what I preach.

First – Pause and Pray

Frequently the last thing we do is the first thing we should. Wait for a time…whatever the length of time might be…and pray. Ask God to help you with your anger.

Second – Relax and Refrain

Anger is a form of stress—a form of anxiety. The thing that would often prove most helpful is for us to pause and let that tension release before we react. Like a rubber band that is stretched to its maximum length the stress has to be relaxed before it snaps.

Third – Live and Love

We are commanded to love one another by the Lord Jesus Christ. A key element in that love is forgiving people who may offend or hurt us. Live and Love means let life go on. In my experience I have found that anger overshadows so much of life and hides love. We need to be willing to let life proceed and love be shown.

Quick…Slow…Slow

I don’t remember who said it, but I heard once about a couple who had made a commitment early in life never to go to bed angry. The wife said that for the decades of their marriage they kept that promise to each other. They never went to bed angry, but a few times they stayed up several days in a row. Regardless of how sincere you are, you will have to face anger at times. James offers us some sage advice to conclude our thoughts today.

James 1:19
…Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;

Did you notice, there is only one thing we are asked to do quickly, that is listen. Everything else is a call to slow down. So, I would encourage you as well. Slow down…wait…let it breath. But, respond to anger in an appropriate way so that you avoid letting the “sun go down on your anger.”

When you are angry…wait.

Our Scar Tissue Issue

Our Scar Tissue Issue

Who we are today is a direct result of our past.
We all have scars and wounds from the words and actions of others and from our own failures and mistakes. But for the Christ-follower this is not the end of the story. I tend to be very good at taking an inventory of my failures and mistakes, probably because I'm so well aware of them, but those same failures and mistakes have been part of what has shaped who I am.

The other part, and the great aspect of this, is what God through His Word and His Spirit has been able to do with these scars. As Ed Young states, "the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to remake us into new creations, these scars from the past become stepping stones to spiritual maturity."

Here are my expanded thoughts on ten key elements Young shares with us from God's word and my experience that can help transform our "Scar Tissue Issue" into a "Pathway to Power and Purpose."

I am Created
We are not a mistake of nature, some haphazardly thrown together combination of elements that crawled out of the primordial muck...God created us...and therefore He put thought and design into us.
For we are God's workmanship. Ephesians 2:10

I am Chosen
God made the choice to redeem us. It's not as if God is strolling along through eternity and looks down at us and says, "I guess you will have to do." He knew us--including our Scar Tissue Issue--and He made the choice for us.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you...1 Timothy 1:4

I am Protected
We just finished up studying the Prayer of Jabez in our Tuesday night Life Application Community, and the final aspect of the prayer prior to God's answering it was a request for God's protection. God places us in the palm of His hand. He allows things in our lives that shape us and mold us, but ultimately we are protected...remember there is more that what we see, experience, and know in the here and now...there is ETERNITY, and we are kept for that in Christ.
Protect me as you would the pupil of your eye. Psalm 17:8 (NLT)

I am Complete
Wow, do I need to be reminded of that from time to time. See, I have this problem of starting a project and getting either distracted or discouraged in it and moving on to another thing while leaving that one incomplete. I'm so glad that God is not discouraged or distracted while working on me. He provides all that is needed as it is needed, and while I'm still a work in progress He promises to complete the good work He is doing in me.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

I am Victorious
It doesn't "FEEL" that way all the time in my life. But, that is where feeling and faith collide. My feelings often tell me one thing, but faith is not based on feelings, and I can trust by faith what my feelings vehemently deny. That I am victorious in Christ. There are many verses that can reassure us of this, so get in God's Word and learn the difference between what your feeling tell you and what God's Word shows you.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37

I am Called
The term "Called" is used so often of those who have become vocational ministers that we might lose sight of the fact that all...ALL...believers are called. Called to live for Christ. Called to serve according to our gifts which He has given us. Called to be vessels of light bearing His message. Called to fulfill His purpose and plan for our lives individually and as part of His body, the church. We wonder why we are on this planet, the answer is, WE ARE HERE FOR HIM. He called us for a reason.
God has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace...2 Timothy 1:9

I am Forgiven
The most damaging Scar Tissue Issue I face is the reality of the sin in my past. In an instant an image, a thought, a sound from ages past can produce such immense feelings of guilt and shame that it might seem like I had just committed the offense. I have to be reminded that God has forgiven every sin. As we confess it He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE. Learning to "Live Forgiven" is a life-long process, but trust the Lord. Take God at His word when it comes to forgiveness, and...LIVE FORGIVEN.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

I am Free
Slavery is a difficult concept for us to grasp in the age of democracy and liberty. What we know of it usually comes from history books and movies. However, slavery is very real, and is as prevalent today as it ever was, it is just that we don't recognize it for what it is. See, today the masters over the slaves are things like...DRUG ADDICTION... SEXUAL ABUSE...GREED...SELF GRATIFICATION...DEPRESSION...etc. We are enslaved by SIN. What God has offered us is FREEDOM from enslavement. We no longer have to follow the whim of our former master if we will yield to the will of God.
Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

I am Loved
Everyone wants to know that they are loved. We want to know that someone values us and desires us, and wants to be with us. There is no love like the love that God offers us in Christ Jesus. However, we tend to seek the tangible...the gratifying...the common forms of love and neglect the greatness of real love found in God. Find that love and live in that love and you will find the real foundation for all the other loves you experience.
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

I am Accepted!
That well known invitation hymn says, "Just as I am without one plea." That's how God receives us. God accepts us. We don't have to clean up perfectly, or make everything right before He will accept us--in fact we can't. It requires what only He can offer to accomplish it. Then He works with us to begin to bring about transformation and change as He shapes us and forms us according to His plan for us. Again, my human tendancy is to TRY...try to do better...try to be better...try to earn it...but I can't. God's plan is not that I TRY but rather that I TRUST. He knows even better than I myself know what my SCAR TISSUE ISSUE is, and He accepts me in spite of it.
But God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5.8

So...
Our SCAR TISSUE ISSUE might seem very different from other people around us, but the reality is that we all have them. I encourage you today to let God be God, even with the scars of your past. See what He can do through the transformational power of the Spirit of God and in the power and strength found in the Word of God. I've given you a few verses this morning, but there are more...many more. Let God speak to you through them.

Praying for you...please pray for me.

Blessings,
Pastor Dave