Sunday, January 13, 2013

What To Do When I am Mad


“Don’t sin by letting your anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.” Psalm 4:4

     I was angry.  Not just angry, but ugly angry.  I wanted to give that guy a piece of my mind.  He had ticked me off, and I wanted him to know it…

     How many of us have done or said something in the heat of anger, that we later deeply regretted?  

     Anybody with me?  

     David instructs us with these words in Psalm 4:4, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent,” (NLT).  Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26, “And don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives foothold to the devil,” (NLT). 

So…what am I supposed to do?  Be quiet and ignore my anger?  Sleep on it?  Not sleep on it? Oh, the choices to make on this side of heaven…

     Luckily, we can know what to do with our anger, and while these passages may seem as if they are contradicting to one another, a closer look in the Word reveals they are very complimentary.

     One thing they both have in common, and one we must understand, is that they tell us that in our anger we must not sin.  Neither one says we cannot be angry.  Anger is simply an emotion; however, when we give into our emotions, and let them drive our behavior – that’s when we are most likely led to sin. 

     In Psalm 4:4, David, tells us to think about it overnight and remain silent. Now, I don’t know about you, but often times, the more I think about something that ticks me off, the more angry I become!  So, how could thinking about it make things better?  But notice David says, think about it overnight. Overnight?  Overnight?!   Yes…overnight.  You see, during the night, it is dark and difficult to see – we certainly cannot see things clearly; yet, in the morning, at the first break of dawn, the sun casts its brilliant light into the shadows to help us see things differently – beyond the boundaries of the darkness, where we can discover truth.

     We are also instructed in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” (NLT).  Perhaps, it is not our anger that we are to think about or dwell on.  I believe David is telling us to think about the truth.  What really happened, and what is it that we are really angry about?  Are we angry because someone has sinned against us – wronged us?  And if that is the case, what does Jesus instruct us to do?  Have we ourselves, not sinned against God? 

     And yet, He offers forgiveness.

     Maybe that is why David also tells us to remain silent.  Proverbs 29:11 says, “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back,” (NLT).   Even Job cried out, “Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.” Job 6:24 (NLT).  I think that is why we can learn so much, when we shut up and listen – especially when the voice we are listening to and for, is the voice of God – the Light that comes overnight – piercing through the darkness with rays of hope.   Perhaps David’s words are best captured through the English Standard Version for us to understand, “…ponder in your own hearts on your own beds, and be silent.”  

     I believe this is what Paul is telling us to do, too, when he warns us, “And don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”  He is not telling us to quickly get in an apology, or to dismiss our anger, or sweep it under the rug.  He is telling us to deal with it.  To make it right with God and in our hearts before the darkness settles in around us – before we allow the darkness in that shadows the truth. 

     The moment we allow our anger to breed in the dark, the uglier and more dangerous it becomes.  It begins to grow and consume us.  No, we must not allow the sun to set on our anger.  Instead, we must persevere by surrendering our thoughts to the only One who can pull us through - the One who is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable – the One who is excellent and praiseworthy.    That is why we are instructed to remain silent, and to think about it, because only Jesus can instruct us on the appropriate way to respond.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your Word.  Thank you for revealing more and more to me, as I spend time with you each day.  Your Word is my daily bread, and I am humbled that you would share it with me.  May your Spirit continue to grow in me in such a way that only point to you.
I ask this in your precious name,
Amen

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Leave Everything?


“So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.” Luke 5:28

Many times when my children ask me to come over and look at something, or help with something, my response is often, “Okay, one minute, let me first finish – fill in the blank – and then I’ll be right there.”  In my reading this morning, I’m reminded that when Jesus asked his disciples to come and follow him, they responded immediately.  They dropped everything and followed Jesus.  Sometimes, I often skim over this verse and think, “Well, of course they left everything to follow Jesus!  It was Jesus!” But isn’t this the same Jesus that calls me to follow him today? 

I mean, it doesn’t say, “First Levi went back to take care of…” or “Simon then tied up his boat and sold his fishing nets so he would have enough money to journey with Jesus.”  It simply says, they left EVERYTHING and followed Jesus. 

A couple of years ago, my dear soul sista advised me to pray and find one word that I feel God is asking me to focus on throughout the year.  This year, my word is “Follow”.  That’s it.  Just follow.  It’s probably no coincidence then that I would land on this verse this morning.  But what does it look like today, in the year 2013, to leave everything and follow Jesus?

I have to admit, this sounds harder to me than I want to confess.  I mean, leave everything?  How would I survive?  How would my family make it?  What about my house, my car, my job?

I’ve often heard it said the devil’s in the details.  Boy, doesn’t that sum it up?  I mean, the devil wants me to fret and worry about the “how to’s” – what I will do, where money will come from, how it will work out – because if I’m focusing on those things, it paralyzes me from doing anything – especially following Jesus. 

How many of us really abandon everything and follow Jesus when he calls us to do so?  If you are anything like me, your response is probably similar to the one I give my kiddos.  “Okay, one minute, Jesus, first let me clean the kitchen,” or “One second, let me first wrap this up,” or “Jesus, you can’t possibly mean me. Let me clean myself up first.  Then you can use me.”  And we get caught up in the distractions and doubts, and instead of leaving everything, we continue pushing the call farther and farther away, until the devil convinces us that it’s too late to respond.

But it is never too late for God!  God doesn’t measure our days by the clock on our wall or the watch on our wrist.  He measures it through moments. 

What if now is our moment?  What if now is when Jesus is calling us to follow him?

Does the thought seem overwhelming to you?  Because, if I’m one hundred percent honest… it does to me.  I wish I could just say, “You got it! Easy-peasy, Jesus.  You asked me to follow, so here I go!”  But then I wonder, what does this mean?  Does it mean I’m supposed to quit my job?  Give everything away?  Move?

And that is what overwhelms me – the not knowing.  Not knowing for certain what Jesus is asking me to do.  And the not knowing comes from not spending time with Him.  Because, if you have spent any time at all with God, you know that when the Spirit is prompting you to do something – He doesn’t usually let you forget it!  So in those moments when I am feeling overwhelmed, the best thing I can do is spend some quiet time with my Dad.  To follow Him to a quiet spot, and share with Him my concerns, my fears, and my doubts.  

What I’ve learned that in those moments, is that God is an amazing listener, and when I spend more and more time with Him, he teaches me to become a good listener, too.  “Follow me,” He says, “listen and learn by my example.”

Maybe that means when Jesus sits down to eat “with such scum” (Luke 5:30), I follow him…and I share the Bread of Life with them.

Maybe that means when Jesus reaches out to heal the leper (Luke 5:13), I follow him…and I offer my hand to them.

Maybe that means when Jesus withdraws to lonely places (Luke 5:16), I follow him…and I pray with Him.

What God whispers to me is different than what He whispers to you.  But I think the underlying message to each of us is probably the same.

“Follow me,” He says.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for your example.  Thank you for leading me, and guiding my steps.  Help me to stay close to you, so that I know your voice and what it is you are calling me to do.  May I be a good and faithful servant, trusting in you always.  Thank you for hearing my prayer.
In you precious name,
Amen