Thursday, October 20, 2016

Douse the Anger


Amos 1: 11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Edom,
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,
12 I will send fire on Teman
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”

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Salt chunks kept hitting my windshield as I fruitlessly attempted to pass the salt truck on the icy road. I got angry. When I arrived at work my check stub showed the wrong amount. They had given me too much and I had to give money back. This required extra work on my behalf to correct “their” mistake. I got angrier. When I got back to my desk I noticed my “sneaky” boss looking at some of my stuff. “You know, I really do not like that person!” I thought to myself!

  • Anger starts small and builds to something bigger.
  • Anger turns into negative thoughts and negative thoughts into something else bad.
  • Anger is the beginning of hatred.


Internal rage is very problematic and can leak out at the wrong time towards the wrong people. When I am so full of rage and anger, the day doesn’t seem as bright. I miss out on delightful moments only to replay old tapes of the dog that ate my wax figurine when I was eight. That dog did make me mad!

  • GOD knows I will get angry, but HE does not want it to turn to rage.
  • GOD understands I will be disappointed, but HE does not want me to escalate it to revenge.
  • GOD cares about my worries, but HE does not desire that I exchange my worries into blaming HIM for where I am at.


“Unchecked fury” is a serious problem with GOD. HE sees me brooding over a situation and says to me “Give ME the problem and I will exchange it with peace.” Instead of thinking of ways to “get back” at the person, GOD wants me to think of ways to bring peace to the situation.

He wants me to reflect on HIM being my shepherd and leading me besides still waters and restoring my soul. GOD desires that I have peace. I can trade my anger in for peace daily.

  • Are you bitterly angry at someone?
  • Do you realize you can have peace with “that” person or “those” people if you ask GOD?
  • Will you douse your furious thoughts and ask GOD to lead you to a place of peace?
  • Will you drop your “steering” expectations of GOD and let HIM execute HIS plan HIS way today?


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