I don't know a single person who has not at some moment or another either found themselves angered by another or found themselves being the one that stirs up anger in another by mere words that are spoken.
God's Word has a lot to say about anger and its effect. In Proverbs, which are considered to be words of wisdom, we find these three verses:
Proverbs 15:1, NASB says: A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 26:20, NASB: For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.
Proverbs 26:21, NASB: Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
I have shared them with the children and explained the meanings to the point that when one of them is angry and the others decide it is time to whisper something, I simply say, "Don't throw wood on my fire!" It quickly lets them know to be quiet without me having to say anything else.
The other day though, my entire house erupted into arguments and I yelled out, "My house is on fire!" Instantly I had the children's attention only to have my husband call out from the back, "I don't want to hear stuff like that." To which I called back, "Not literally, metaphorically."
Over the years, by pointing out the fire in the room, I have managed to have quite a success record when it comes to extinguishing fires before they get out of control. However, when it comes to Mike and I, this has not worked quite as well. He does not have understanding regarding these verses and to top that off, he can whip some wood around pretty darn quickly. Recently, he has taken to throwing rotten wood at me and I have truly struggled with my own anger towards him.
He mocks me a lot for going to church, for my faith, for the degree I am seeking in college and for blogging and writing regarding God. It's a lot for a person to take. When you consider all the other things I have on my daily plate, its a wonder I don't combust into flames!
Regardless, I know that the Lord is where I find my strength and I also know there is strength in numbers. I don't go to church to be preached at. I go to church to learn, to be encouraged and to stand in worship with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I need that food. I need that time. I need those hugs from my fellow sisters, and I need to hang with others who understand this fallen world!
This Sunday, we had a guest teacher from Detroit come and speak. At the end, they called those of us that felt we were cloaked with something that was keeping us in chains, something we needed delivered from to come forward. I came up. While I have tried with all my might to rid myself of anger and resentment towards Mike, I was still struggling with them both. As I stood in the front praying for help with these, tears began running down my face. Someone put their hands on my head and began praying in another language for me and suddenly I fell backwards and found myself on the floor. Now I have seen this happen on TV, but I have never felt it happen to myself. After a moment I got back up and began praying and thanking God and again someone put their hands on me. It was a lady and she said to me, "Its okay, let it go. He is all over you, just accept all He has to offer." and wham I fell back harder and I truly thought someone had turned the lights on full force for such brilliant light exploded behind my eyes. That time I remained on the floor and basked in the Son's light and wept with gratitude. I truly believe God removed my resentment of Mike from my heart for my eyes see him differently now. It will be interesting to see if he can give me rise to anger with his words in the near future or if they will fall uselessly to the ground. What I do know is this, something inside me changed and for that I am grateful. Anger is a rotten emotion. It only grows much like jealousy grows. It is no wonder our world is in the shape it is in. How many angry people seek God for help with their emotions? Not enough, that is for sure!
Too much has happened in my life for me to lose my faith. Too much has taken place for me to quit writing just because Mike gives me a hard time about it. I have told him more than once that it is God that called me forth to write and I am listening to that call. I also understand that I need to surround myself with others that have true faith in Christ Jesus.
Mike fears the church. After taking both the History of Ancient Israel as well as the History of Christianity, I understand his fear. False teachers abound. We are warned by Paul time and time again to be on the lookout for them. This is one of the reasons that you need to read the Word of God for yourself. As you do, pray for understanding. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful teacher. While the Word of God will help you come to know God, it is in seeking Him directly that you will grow by leaps and bounds. The LORD wants you to get to know Him. He has countless promises for those who seek.
For today, I encourage you to put into practice the advice found in proverbs, "Don't throw wood onto the fire!" and should you find yourself enraged by someone else, kindly utter the phrase back to them. Perhaps it will halt them long enough for you to calm your heart and recognize your own wood throwing skills!
I would like to leave you with this last little tidbit. Satan LOVES for you to become angry. I am fully convinced that he is a whisperer of evil thoughts. From the very beginning, he has been at the root of sibling rivalry and so much more! Most people know that Cain killed Abel, but did you know that before that murder took place, God came to Cain and counseled him? I promise you , this is true. It is in Genesis that we read this:
Genesis 4:1-10, NASB: Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." [2] Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [3] So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. [4] Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; [5] but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. [6] Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? [7] If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." [8] Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
There is a lot to this story that I am not going to get into right now, for today our focus is on anger and the truth that sin is always crouching at our door desiring to capture us. The LORD's advice for us is the same as it was for Cain. We MUST master it!
I have tried myself to bite my own tongue, to calm my own angry heart, to get hold of my emotions and trust me when I say, "It is no easy feat." Even when I have been able to stifle it, I have not been able to fully put out the coals. It was only until I went before God and admitted that I wanted to be rid of it all, that it was taken from me. I pray that this remains to be the case. I know that it is only with the help of the LORD that it will remain so for I am under no disillusions that the evil one will not continue to whisper into the ears of those that are close to me. I know if he can't get my attention directly, he will use others in an attempt to pull my from my 'happy zone'. That my friends is part of Spiritual Warfare. Our nation is at war but the biggest war is the one being waged against humanity as a whole. It is my prayer that more soldiers for Christ wake up and begin helping bring the Kingdom of Heaven here to earth.
Today if you realize you are holding onto anger and resentment, I encourage you to ask God to help you be rid of it all. It is my prayer that you do this. It is my prayer that you feel the change in your heart. When it comes to others, it is my prayer that you begin to recognize your own 'wood throwing skills' and begin to teach yourself to grab a salt shaker instead ;-) ~ blessings to all who do!
Wendy Glidden, Mom of Many, walks with God.
God's Word has a lot to say about anger and its effect. In Proverbs, which are considered to be words of wisdom, we find these three verses:
Proverbs 15:1, NASB says: A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 26:20, NASB: For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.
Proverbs 26:21, NASB: Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
I have shared them with the children and explained the meanings to the point that when one of them is angry and the others decide it is time to whisper something, I simply say, "Don't throw wood on my fire!" It quickly lets them know to be quiet without me having to say anything else.
The other day though, my entire house erupted into arguments and I yelled out, "My house is on fire!" Instantly I had the children's attention only to have my husband call out from the back, "I don't want to hear stuff like that." To which I called back, "Not literally, metaphorically."
Over the years, by pointing out the fire in the room, I have managed to have quite a success record when it comes to extinguishing fires before they get out of control. However, when it comes to Mike and I, this has not worked quite as well. He does not have understanding regarding these verses and to top that off, he can whip some wood around pretty darn quickly. Recently, he has taken to throwing rotten wood at me and I have truly struggled with my own anger towards him.
He mocks me a lot for going to church, for my faith, for the degree I am seeking in college and for blogging and writing regarding God. It's a lot for a person to take. When you consider all the other things I have on my daily plate, its a wonder I don't combust into flames!
Regardless, I know that the Lord is where I find my strength and I also know there is strength in numbers. I don't go to church to be preached at. I go to church to learn, to be encouraged and to stand in worship with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I need that food. I need that time. I need those hugs from my fellow sisters, and I need to hang with others who understand this fallen world!
This Sunday, we had a guest teacher from Detroit come and speak. At the end, they called those of us that felt we were cloaked with something that was keeping us in chains, something we needed delivered from to come forward. I came up. While I have tried with all my might to rid myself of anger and resentment towards Mike, I was still struggling with them both. As I stood in the front praying for help with these, tears began running down my face. Someone put their hands on my head and began praying in another language for me and suddenly I fell backwards and found myself on the floor. Now I have seen this happen on TV, but I have never felt it happen to myself. After a moment I got back up and began praying and thanking God and again someone put their hands on me. It was a lady and she said to me, "Its okay, let it go. He is all over you, just accept all He has to offer." and wham I fell back harder and I truly thought someone had turned the lights on full force for such brilliant light exploded behind my eyes. That time I remained on the floor and basked in the Son's light and wept with gratitude. I truly believe God removed my resentment of Mike from my heart for my eyes see him differently now. It will be interesting to see if he can give me rise to anger with his words in the near future or if they will fall uselessly to the ground. What I do know is this, something inside me changed and for that I am grateful. Anger is a rotten emotion. It only grows much like jealousy grows. It is no wonder our world is in the shape it is in. How many angry people seek God for help with their emotions? Not enough, that is for sure!
Too much has happened in my life for me to lose my faith. Too much has taken place for me to quit writing just because Mike gives me a hard time about it. I have told him more than once that it is God that called me forth to write and I am listening to that call. I also understand that I need to surround myself with others that have true faith in Christ Jesus.
Mike fears the church. After taking both the History of Ancient Israel as well as the History of Christianity, I understand his fear. False teachers abound. We are warned by Paul time and time again to be on the lookout for them. This is one of the reasons that you need to read the Word of God for yourself. As you do, pray for understanding. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful teacher. While the Word of God will help you come to know God, it is in seeking Him directly that you will grow by leaps and bounds. The LORD wants you to get to know Him. He has countless promises for those who seek.
For today, I encourage you to put into practice the advice found in proverbs, "Don't throw wood onto the fire!" and should you find yourself enraged by someone else, kindly utter the phrase back to them. Perhaps it will halt them long enough for you to calm your heart and recognize your own wood throwing skills!
I would like to leave you with this last little tidbit. Satan LOVES for you to become angry. I am fully convinced that he is a whisperer of evil thoughts. From the very beginning, he has been at the root of sibling rivalry and so much more! Most people know that Cain killed Abel, but did you know that before that murder took place, God came to Cain and counseled him? I promise you , this is true. It is in Genesis that we read this:
Genesis 4:1-10, NASB: Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." [2] Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [3] So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. [4] Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; [5] but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. [6] Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? [7] If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." [8] Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
There is a lot to this story that I am not going to get into right now, for today our focus is on anger and the truth that sin is always crouching at our door desiring to capture us. The LORD's advice for us is the same as it was for Cain. We MUST master it!
I have tried myself to bite my own tongue, to calm my own angry heart, to get hold of my emotions and trust me when I say, "It is no easy feat." Even when I have been able to stifle it, I have not been able to fully put out the coals. It was only until I went before God and admitted that I wanted to be rid of it all, that it was taken from me. I pray that this remains to be the case. I know that it is only with the help of the LORD that it will remain so for I am under no disillusions that the evil one will not continue to whisper into the ears of those that are close to me. I know if he can't get my attention directly, he will use others in an attempt to pull my from my 'happy zone'. That my friends is part of Spiritual Warfare. Our nation is at war but the biggest war is the one being waged against humanity as a whole. It is my prayer that more soldiers for Christ wake up and begin helping bring the Kingdom of Heaven here to earth.
Today if you realize you are holding onto anger and resentment, I encourage you to ask God to help you be rid of it all. It is my prayer that you do this. It is my prayer that you feel the change in your heart. When it comes to others, it is my prayer that you begin to recognize your own 'wood throwing skills' and begin to teach yourself to grab a salt shaker instead ;-) ~ blessings to all who do!
Wendy Glidden, Mom of Many, walks with God.