Often, when we feel troublesome emotions like anger, irritation, anxiety, worry, fear, jealousy, envy, guilt and shame we simply allow those emotions to dictate our choices and behavior. We kick the cat, text our child for the 20th time that day, avoid that difficult conversation, work harder to prove we are good enough, fight with our spouse or eat things we know we shouldn’t.
Experiencing anger and conflict in life is inevitable but responding to those experiences in helpful ways is not. In fact, research tells us the number one reason relationships fail (work relationships, marriages, parent-child relationships, friendships, our relationship with God) is due to unresolved conflict.
“'In your anger do not sin.’ Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-27).” When we nurture anger we're inviting the devil to come in. Therefore, Psalm 4:4-5 says, “In your anger do not sin. When you are on your beds search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.” In this blog we'll take a close look at the first step in learning how to search our hearts when we're angry.
Welcome back to my fourth of five blogs on anger.
In my previous blogs I've said it's easy to sin when we're angry. Therefore, we're taking a close look at Psalm 4:4-5 which says, "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your heart and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD." That's our goal throughout this series. We're learning four steps in searching our hearts when we're angry so we can offer right sacrifices as we trust in the LORD.
Contact Gary Heim
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Contact Lisa Heim
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