BBD 01.16.06 When You Can't Take It Anymore
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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01.16.06
When You Can't Take It Anymore
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of
God. - James 1:19-20.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like.. - Galatians 5:19-21a.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. - Galatians 5:22-23a.
Have you ever had someone push all of your buttons, emotional buttons that
is and it result in your saying something or doing something you later
regretted? It has happened to many of us including recently a 30-year-old
woman in Northam, Australia. Her boyfriend insisted on playing the Elvis
Presley song, "Burning Love," over and over again. The woman attacked him,
stabbing him repeatedly in the back, shoulder and thigh with a pair of
scissors. According to police the injuries, thankfully, were described as
"non-life threatening." The woman is facing charges in court from the
attack.
Will Rogers once said "people who fly into a rage seldom make a good
landing." I think we can see that the Australian woman made a poor landing.
What do you do when someone is pushing all of your buttons? What do you do
when someone is driving you up the wall and over? Do you lash out in anger
when you can't take it anymore?
If you wait to deal with your lack of patience and anger issues until it
confronts you it is so much harder to hold back from doing the wrong thing.
However, there are some things you can do. You can immediately in your mind,
go to the Lord in prayer. "Lord help me!" is always a good one. Another
thing you can do is to repeat a verse of Scripture repeatedly until you are
calm and the crisis has passed. A good verse is Philippians 4:6-7, "Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus." Other times you may be able to do something yourself like
walking away from the situation, refusing to respond verbally, or
redirecting the conversation, or activity. Turning the other cheek (Matthew
5:39) is still in the Bible along with going the extra mile (Matthew 5:41).
The very best way to handle frustrating, anger provoking situations is to be
prepared for them far in advance. How do you do that? By walking with God on
a daily basis, reading His Word, praying, going to church, and serving Him.
Memorize those verses of Scripture dealing with anger and imbed them in your
heart. As you walk with God, you will give Him an opportunity to develop in
you the fruit of the Spirit, which are, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." If any of the
fruit of the Spirit is within you, it will be very hard for anyone to
provoke you into an "outburst of wrath."
Copyright © 2006. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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