2002-09-30
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Once again the Holy Spirit prompts me to write about the subject of anger, this time from the point of view of what we should do about it when we feel angry. All of these recent messages are designed to let us know how God's word prepares us so that we can effectively witness to our faith and the goodness it brings into our lives. We are looking at the nuts and bolts of how we can accept God's invitation to us to join Him in His work. To keep our eye on God's big picture, we must never forget that He invited us back to faith in Him while we were still His enemies, and He invited us first out of His profound love. He deserves to have our willingness to experience Him through obedient trust and join Him in His work, including carrying the Gospel message of salvation and peace to others. PS 126: 5-6, "Let those who wept as they planted their crops gather the harvest with joy! Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed will come back singing for joy, as they bring in the harvest."
I am reminded of Christ's Parable of the Ten Virgins in MT 25: 1-13. You'll remember that five of those virgins didn't have their lamps filled with oil in time for the wedding feast of the Lamb. They are the ones who were not prepared. None of us want to be like them. That's why we must take the time to deal with any kind of sin in our own personal lives now, including anger. Anger is a burden to us, a burden that should be given over to God. From the very establishment of the ancient Jewish nation, this was God's will. DT 32: 35, "The Lord will take revenge and punish them [His enemies]; the time will come when they will fall; the day of their doom is near." How much more effective and civilized is giving anger over to God than taking revenge against the subject of one's anger oneself! This same DT citation is reiterated in RO 12: 19, "Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the Scripture [DT 32: 35] says, 'I will pay back, says the Lord.'" Look how remarkable is the God Who loves us! PS 68: 19, "What a glorious Lord! He Who daily bears our burdens also gives us our salvation." Justified or not, anger must be given over to the Lord. Only His shoulders are wide enough to deal with it with wisdom, perfect timing, and complete justice.
When translated into the Greek, the statement, "Do not give the devil a chance," is in the present active imperative [tense, voice, and mood]. It is a command that forbids or prohibits something from continuing or becoming an action. Ideally, the day of anger should be the day of reconciliation. Kay Arthur gives this definition for anger from the Linguistic Key To The Greek New Testament: "An angry mood, a violent irritation is meant, expressed by either hiding one's self from others or by flaming looks, harmful words, inconsiderate actions." God calls us to search our hearts for any anger in them. It is obvious that there are times when our anger is unjustified, although that is not all of the time. Here's one of the greatest examples of unjustified anger ever seen. AC 5: 30-33, [The apostles testifying before the Sanhedrin-Jewish High Council], "'The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. God raised Him to His right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. We are witnesses to these things-we and the Holy Spirit, Who is God's gift to those who obey Him.' When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death." We are given a glimpse into God's hand in this whole situation. One of the highly respected members of the Council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, had the apostles removed and then said in AC 5: 38-39, "...Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear, but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!" The Council ended up taking Gamaliel's advice. We all know what happened as the Gospel spread after that.
The question that remains is: What springs the trap that anger causes? The answer is what Jesus Christ is all about-forgiveness. JN 3: 16 should come to mind. Faith and obedience to God also help to spring the trap. JAS 1: 19-20, "Remember this, my dear brothers! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. Man's anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose..." PS 145: 8-9, "The Lord is kind and shows mercy. He does not become angry quickly but is full of love. The Lord is good to everyone; He is merciful to all He has made." We must take the time to examine our lives to see if unresolved anger is in them. If so, we must take it to the Lord and let Him deal with it, as only He can. When we do, we will finally find the peace that goes beyond human understanding [PHIL 4: 7].
PRAYER: O Lord, we must in our thinking return again and again to the wondrous truth that You are the same God who bears our burdens and gives us salvation through the Atonement of Your Son. We are undeserving of this remarkable blessing, given to us out of Your grace. We are also humbly thankful for it. Dearest Abba, we know that holding grudges, refusing to resolve differences, using anger to further human agendas, and the like damages us and puts distance between You and us. More importantly, these things keep us from producing spiritual fruit. Whenever we find ourselves in a situation which produces anger, we acknowledge that we should stop and ask: "What would Jesus do?" We are brought to an important realization in RO 14: 7-8, "If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." The Holy Spirit is Your mark of ownership on us. We come before You today in humility to thank You for the gift of Your Spirit and to pledge that even through we are sinners, we are dedicated to obeying Your commandments and being aware of Your will through prayer and study of Your word. The Spirit tells us to place our anger on the shoulders of Your Son, Who takes our burdens and makes them light [MT 11: 28-30]. We will use the stories of the Bible as examples of how we should handle unresolved anger. They show us when it is done righteously and when not. The discernment we get from You is a gift we shall treasure and return for repeatedly. Your wisdom is supreme, and Your patient compassion unparalleled, making us a truly blessed people. We confess our sins in humility and offer You the adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving You so richly deserve. In Christ's name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at the issue of forgiveness and what it means to us. I can't speak for each of you, but I know there are things in my past that were certainly entrapping me and leading me to spiritual death. No human being could give me relief from the guilt and oppression that they made me feel. However, our Dearest Abba, came to my rescue, as He does to all who love Him and are willing to believe in His Son. Nothing and no one can lift the burden of one's sins like He can. That is why I joyfully cite PS 31: 3-5 once again. "You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God." Nothing like this could be possible without the magnificent love of our awesome Lord. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn