Today I want to give you a place to start your week. It’s Monday and in the wake of a great weekend and a workweek ahead, sometimes you just need a “kickstart” to get focused. So grab some coffee let’s start a great week together.
A couple of weeks ago, we kicked off a series with our Kfirst community that focuses on how God wants to connect and use our emotions. (Click here for yesterday’s notes.)
Our bodies have a physiological reactions to anger and it causes us to “feel” overwhelmed as if we cannot control our anger. But in the face of the physical reactions, we can control our responses. And it can be cone through a redemptive approach to anger.
Yesterday, we did a “flyover” of biblical anger. We did our best to help bring understanding that first, God has anger, and second, we do too. And if we can approach it the way God does, it has potential to change the world around us. From looking at the Old Testament, we can see that God’s anger always had a redemptive purpose for His people. His end-game was to bring about a positive, constructive outcome that would leave His people in a better place. Even in the New Testament, Jesus’ anger was to position the people in the blessing of God and not chase them away from it.
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This is how we can approach anger. We don’t run from it; we harness it to have a redemptive outcome to it by being intentionally reasonable.
So we digested Philippians 4:5-9 and helped give a strategic approach to anger.
- Redemptive Thinking (v. 6-8)
- Every thought is a train. And before I board it, I want to know if it’s heading in a direction that I want to be. If we expect a positive direction to your anger, you cannot be constantly fill your mind with the negative. Take command of your thinking.
- Redemptive Venting (v. 6)
- Take all of the stuff driving your anger and turn it into a prayer; funnel it into praise. Let God give you the strength you need and the peace you crave. Let Him give you the meaning you’re after and He’ll help you to deal with the person you’re angry with.
- Redemptive Investigation (v. 9)
- Get a better picture of the story than you currently possess. I love what author Lysa TerKeurst says, “There’s the story, then there’s the story we tell ourselves.” Instead of allowing your anger to “fill in the blanks” of your story, get the right information to make the proper decisions.
- Redemptive Response (v. 5, 9)
- Anger was designed to be a visitor, not a resident.
- My option #1 – Confront the matter.
- You can be reasonable in love; give the truth in grace.
- Your approach will stem from your view of God
- My option #2 – Overlook the matter
- Biblical Forbearance: Turning it over to God and refusing to be held captive to the wrong
Look at these four points and ask yourself, “What do I need to work on for me to have a redemptive response through my anger. Ask the Lord for help in not just revealing where you are being challenges but to help you grow through it.
Love you all. This Sunday, we’ll wrap up “Chasing Foxes.”
BTW: Here’s a song for your week!
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