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Monday, May 10, 2021

God Waits For Us When We Are Angry!

Quotation

Through daily Bible reading and prayer, the Holy Spirit will teach us and instruct us on how to deal with anger.

Barry Denzil Haney

Verse

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Psalm 145:8

Reflection

With heart racing, face flushed, and with clenched fists, I shout out, “No way, leave me alone!”

Experienced by everyone, this basic, raw emotion, can be mild or provoke rage and aggression, causing physical and mental problems.

The emotion, anger, triggers the body’s fight or flight response. The two paired amygdala in the brain activate the sympathetic nervous system. This causes a chain reaction of physiologic responses in the body, including the following: increased heart rate, dilatation of blood vessels (flushed face), dilatation of lung bronchi with increased respiration rate, increased conversion of glycogen to glucose, made available to skeletal muscles and brain, and dilatation of the pupils. Psychological changes occur simultaneously including the following: quickening of thought, attention focus on targets such as source of threat, appraisals about meaning of body reactions. (Psychology Tools)

According to Elizabeth Wagner, PsyD, people react to anger in three different ways: expression, suppression, or calming. (Wagner) Unfortunately, in today’s world, many react to anger using expression, yelling, blaming or becoming aggressive.

Uncontrolled anger can lead to an overwhelming sense of sadness and depression, and when severe, failed relationships, damaged reputations, and long lasting mental illness.

Does God get angry at us? Most people imagine God reacting to our indiscretions the way we would react, with anger. Because he is omnipotent and omniscient, he does not react with petty human emotions, irritations, and shortcomings. In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Bible tells us He does not think like we do:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.

How does the Bible describe God?

God is merciful:

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:4-5)

God is patient:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9}

God is love:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

God is forgiving:

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

Hallelujah! Thank goodness we worship a merciful God who waits for us when we are angry!

Illustration

A teacher had just finished putting the last pair of galoshes on her first-graders—thirty-two pairs in all. The last little girl said, “You know what, teacher? These aren’t my galoshes.”

The teacher removed them from the girl’s feet. Then the little girl continued, “They are my sister’s, and she let me wear them.” The teacher quietly put them back on her pupil.

Now that’s patience! (Green)

Prayer

Our Heavenly Father,

Thank you for not getting angry at us!

Thank you for Your mercy!

Thank you for Your patience!

Thank you for Your love!

Even though we don’t deserve it thank

you for Your forgiveness! Thank you

for the gift of salvation through the work

of Your Son on the Cross at Calvary!

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

Amen!

Worship

Patiently Enduring – Active Christianity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fba0iHb40ms

God Bless You,

Barry

Wagner, Elizabeth. “What To Do When You Are Angry.” Eleos Psychology Center. Accessed May 5, 2021. https://eleospsychologycentermn.com/what-to-do-when-you-are-angry/.

“Fight Or Flight Response.” Psychology Tools, May 4, 2021. https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response/.

Green, Michael P. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.

Friday, May 7, 2021

Imprisoned by Bitterness!

Quotation

Where does bitterness come from? It usually starts out small. But like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill it increases until it causes an avalanche in one’s life.

Barry Denzil Haney

Verse

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Reflection

Bitterness is defined as anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly; resentment. For many, bitterness becomes a way of life. Their worldview is characterized by chronic resentment as they ruminate over how they’ve been victimized. This way of thinking can have severe harmful effects on the psyche such as prolonging mental and emotional pain, lead to long-lasting anxiety and depression, precipitate vengeful acts, create or deepen an attitude of distrust, and undermine your physical health. (Seltzer)

What does God think about bitterness?

According to Michael Linn, the key elements of bitterness are unresolved anger, the inability to grieve, and a lack of control. In order for us to let go of bitterness we have to accept and forgive. (Linn)

In Romans 12:19, Paul is telling us God does not want us to take revenge for perceived wrongs against us, but to show restraint and be peaceable:

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

We need to eliminate bitterness from our heart. Hatefulness and holiness cannot exist in the same heart. Hebrews 12:14 tells us we cannot have a relationship with God if bitterness is in our heart:

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Illustration

Leonard Holt was a paragon of respectability. He was a middle-aged, hard-working lab technician who had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular church attender, he was admired as a model in his community. Until that image exploded in a well-planned hour of bloodshed one brisk October morning.

A proficient marksman, Leonard Holt stuffed two pistols in his coat pockets and drove to the mill. He stalked slowly into his shop and began shooting with calculated frenzy. He filled several co-workers with two or three bullets apiece, firing more than thirty shots, killing some men he had known for more than fifteen years. When the posse found him standing defiantly in his doorway, he snarled, “Come and get me, you….I’m not taking any more of your….!” Bewilderment swept the community.

Puzzled policemen and friends finally found a train of logic behind his brief reign of terror. Down deep within the heart of Leonard Holt rumbled the giant of resentment. His monk-like exterior concealed the seething hatred within. The investigation yielded the following facts. Several victims had been promoted over him while he remained in the same position. More than one in Holt’s carpool had quit riding with him due to his reckless driving. The man was brimming with resentment—rage that could be held no longer. Beneath his picture in Time, the caption told the story: “Responsible, Respectable, and Resentful.”

Prayer

Our Heavenly Father,

Help me rid myself of bitterness! Help me to

not be resentful of others because of perceived

injustices. Help me to instead see them as Your

creation and strife to love them as You love me!

Rid my heart of bitterness and replace it with Your

holiness. Help me accept and forgive. By doing this,

I can bridge the gulf separating me from You and

begin an eternal loving relationship with You!