IN THE CASE OF ANGER: SLOW IS GOOD!!

             
Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name. Again I can not begin to give God enough praise for what He is doing in my life. My wife and I are about to go through a three-week trial that I know will require much prayer and grace. But I know God will see us through.

I'd like to share with you an article I was asked to write for another site. I pray it blesses you.

 There are several things that I have found that can stunt our growth as Christian men and woman and one of those things is anger. Anger and unforgiveness are a deadly combination. Let’s focus on ANGER for now. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:26+27 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

 This lets us know that anger in of itself is not a sin. It is one of our God-given emotions. God is letting us know that there is a Godly or righteous anger that is acceptable to Him. God gave us our emotions to help us control and express our feelings, and not the other way around, as when Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple in Matthew 21:12. Jesus was angered but did not sin. God warns us not to sin due to our anger and commit an act like disobedience or hurting someone physically. Moses struck the rock out of anger and because of his disobedience was not allowed into the promised land along with the Children of Israel. Read Numbers chapter 20.

The bible addresses anger also in James 1:19+20 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

If we follow those instructions we will find that we will encounter fewer opportunities to get angry or sin in our anger. God is letting us know that man’s anger stems from the flesh and does not encompass the righteousness of God. If we are quick to listen, listen to what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us when we find ourselves in various situations that can lead to frustration and anger. At the same time, we must be slow to speak, making sure we measure the impact of every word we speak and making sure that our every word is seasoned with salt and grace toward the hearer.(see Colossians 4:6) Then we must be slow to wrath or anger, examining the reason for our anger as to whether it is Godly righteous indignation or of the flesh.
Ephesians 4:29-32 states 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

This scripture puts it in a nutshell. As Christians, we must remember to do these things out of obedience and also in appreciation of what God has done for us. When feelings of anger begin to well up inside us think of these words always remembering also that we have the mind of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us.

God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall