I'll admit it...I am loving our SS lessons from Taking Time to Quiet Your Soul. I'm have AHA moments all over the place. Often, I walk away thinking..."Gee, that's really simple and straight scripture. Why didn't I figure that out myself!"This week was on Anger and Bitterness...and it was what I needed to hear. I've been trying to deal with my anger for years now. I find that it's very cyclical...I have an angry outburst, feel awful, confess, try to change (but not taking care of root causes), another angry outburst, feel awful, etc. etc. Over and over again. So, when Berg identified three causes of anger...based on Numbers 20...I was eager for information and eager for change. Incidentally, I had never thought of Numbers 20 as a good source of info. on anger. But it is the longest passage regarding anger in the Bible.
The three causes of anger are frustration, hurt, and fear. Frustration is the agitation that results from a thwarted goal. Hurt is the pain in the soul from personal mistreatment. Fear is the uncertainty of how things will turn out.
I'm telling you people...It was like a light bulb going on! I could totally place all my anger from weeks, months and years into those three causes easily. The interesting thing is that I could then tell myself to get a grip too. I find it easier to make excuses for my anger...rather than telling myself to "get a grip" and realize that it is SIN...and needs to STOP!
I might be frustrated by my children , for example, but I need to "get a grip." They are blessing to me from God...and I need to view and treat them as such. This is a short season of life...and I need to treat it as such.
Ephesians 5:16, "making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."
Psalm 127:3, "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him."
I might feel hurt by societal treatment of housewives, for example, but I need to get a grip. This is my role and I will love it and I KNOW it's value to GOD...whether anyone else does or not.
Colossians 3:23, "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."
I might feel fearful of our future, for example, but I need to get a grip. Only God knows what the future holds and I need to trust Him...there is really nothing else I can DO anyway.
Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
To overcome anger, you must put out the fires of frustration , hurt and fear, which are fueled by an unbelieving heart--a heart that does not see God as more than enough.
3 comments:
I can definitely pinpoint all three of those forms of anger in myself too! Thanks for sharing these, now to copy all this down and meditate on it for a little while.
Very good, Bobbi...I needed to read this, too....
The session on anger from that series was one of the most helpful to me -- I listened to it over and over. Realizing those triggers to anger and learning to trust God through them is so helpful -- though I certainly am far from having it all down pat yet.
Post a Comment