ANGER

ANGER    “WORTH CONSIDERING”   3//16/20   By Ken Smith

Today’s Scripture  (In my ebox this morning.)
“…Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city…”(Proverbs 16:32, ESV)

Rule Your Spirit
Today’s Scripture tells us to rule our own spirit. It doesn’t say to rule somebody else’s spirit or to rule your circumstances. You can’t control what other people think or say about you or the negative circumstances around you. If you’re dealing with a sickness or your finances are low, your attempts to control it will only lead to frustration, worry, and discouragement. Part of ruling your spirit is to not let that poison get in you. Ships don’t sink because there’s water around them; they sink if they let the water get in them.

Another part of ruling your spirit is to not believe the enemy’s constant whispers, “You blew it. God’s never going to bless you.” God’s mercy is bigger than any mistake. Your mistakes didn’t cancel God’s plan, and He’s not finished with you. You may have fallen down, but your attitude should be, “I’m not staying down. God will get me to where I’m supposed to be.”

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for Your strength and mercy in times of difficulty. I can’t control what others say or do or control negative circumstances around me, but I can rule my spirit. I believe that You will make a way for me and get me to where I’m supposed to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Ken’s Thoughts,
As I consider the Holy Scriptures I see that there is constructive anger and destructive anger.  We see very quickly as we read our Bible that God has the ability to get angry, very angry.  Even Jesus was angry at times.  We can get very angry when we know about some child abuse even as God is angry when children are abused.  So there is a righteous anger that is not sin but is constructive.

But the anger we feel some of the time is negative and project hate rather than healing.  And many times is experienced due to the light exposing the darkness like with Cain and Able where due to Cain’s jealousy and pride he literally killed his brother to put the light out. Darkness hates Light.

In my study of the subject I found an interesting thought that some professional wrote where it was stated that 5 minutes of serious anger can effectively shut down an immune system for the whole day.  That one of the primary results of anger or unresolved conflicts is sickness.  So lets take a look at some of the scriptures in the New Testament.

First one to come to my mind is the Lord’s Supper:  For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ’s] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself.  30 That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death.  31 For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

James teaches us the following:  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.  14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  James 5:13-15   So please notice that sickness can be, (but not always,) the result of sin.  Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Anger, Resentments can all cause all kinds of sickness.  So if you get sick it is good to check out these areas of possibilities for the cause.  Of course it can also be due to other issues as well.   But sickness never comes from God, God does not want us to be sick.  Jesus came expressly to help us find our way to health and wholeness.  The warranty we have is 120 healthy years of life as shared and experienced by Moses, Gen 6:3 but we have to do the proper maintenance.