Inside Out Anger
Who here experiences anger? This is not just the frustration or annoyed kind of anger. This is the all...out...rage. It could be there for no good reason. It could be a small thing that set you off. It could be a legitimate reason. It could be towards a situation, teammate or coach, your kids, spouse, etc. It could even be towards yourself or God.
It could be contained within the walls of your cerebral cortex or it could sometimes explode like Anger from Inside Out when the emotion was just too much to contain. The location, surroundings and means as to which the emotion comes out can vary greatly person to person.
Not everyone deals with this. But more people do than we realize. It can be easy to hide but a real struggle that is necessary to talk about.
We don't like it. But it's so hard to control when it comes. Why does this happen? What do we do with it when it does come? Hormones may biologically be raging. Kids may just not...be...listening or the spouse is just...not...helping, though they are trying and love is really there.
Maybe you've been trying to reach out to someone with God's love over and over and over again, but they just don't receive it or get it. You desperately want them to find healing and freedom.
Maybe you are SO mad at yourself because you aren't being the person you want to be and are trying SO hard to be.
While unable to be comprehensive, here are some key things to help give perspective and channel anger properly...
1. God (including Jesus) got incredibly angry yet was sinless. It is a normal emotion. Don't feel guilty for experiencing it. Accept that it's there.
2. What matters is what you do with your anger. If you tend to hurt yourself or others when anger explodes, ask for help and seek a different channel to express and work through your anger. Talk about it. And then confess and work through making things right when you have wronged yourself or others.
3. Ask God to reveal the root reason as to why you get angry. Seek Him and seek answers. He is a God who heals and restores and desires to.
4. God is the one who changes hearts. Our job is to be faithful and obedient, no matter how long it takes. Look at how patient and faithful God is with every one of us. He exhibits more patience than anger with His peoples' disobedience.
5. Be angry at the lack of reverence for our God. Be angry at injustice and unrighteousness. But do...not...sin. And do not hold on to anger. That is where Satan gets a foothold. Confront anger. Ask God to reveal Himself and help you through it. Ask Him to provide someone to come alongside you in the process.
Whenever you feel like Anger from Inside Out, stop, take a breath, recognize it for what it is, and ask God to help you turn your anger inside out to be dealt with in a healthy way that brings life and peace.
|