Anger

Today my spiritual food is going to be about anger and irritation. I have certainly been tested in this category lately. It seems as though everything lately has been a true test of my patience. Sometimes it’s so easy to get angry or irritated with people and situations. God tells us that we should be slow to anger though.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil (Psalm 37:8).
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly (Proverbs 14:29).

So how can we do that? There are many techniques for managing the anger process. You can view some of helpful techniques here: http://www.1st-anger-management.com/

It’s hard to mentally tell ourselves to “keep your cool”, especially when stressful situations occur, however, it’s a virtue when we choose patience over anger. Everybody experiences anger, even God gets angry (Psalms 7:11). Everybody deals with anger differently. Dealing with anger in a calm way is the ultimate goal we should work towards.

When I start to feel angry I start counting to 10 followed with a few deep breaths. This serves 2 purposes. 1) It challenges me to focus on something besides that anger building up and 2) it starts to ease the stress my muscles and mind are building up. Then finally, I just surrender to God and let Him walk me through it. It’s amazing how these 3 steps have helped me. I still get angry, no doubt, but the way I chose to deal with it is totally different than my old habits. I feel like a better person. Now it seems so natural to not let little things get to me, it also feels great not to stress the small stuff. It’s even more wonderful to know that when my anger does build up that God is there to work through it and believe me, He does just that!

PRAYER:

Lord, I need help in this area. I know that I have offended you more times than any person has offended me and you have forgiven me for each offense. I need to extend that same grace to those around me who have offended me. Give me the heart that will stand the offenses and look on with love rather than discord. Give me the wisdom to return offenses with kind words or actions. Help me to forgive immediately even if changes are to come. Show me the offenses I've done to others and help me as I seek to right my wrongs. I am only human Lord, but with your help I can achieve peace. Amen.