It's been a rough two days for me! I am borderline of exhaustion. My wife and I rented some movies through Netflix and I slept through them all!! I wake up for my breakfast meeting with God but felt extremely tired that I wanted to go back to bed and sleep another 15 minutes. Yesterday and today, I have been wrestling with the Sprint customer service trying to get my Treo 650 working. Today, I waited another hour so that they could update the Sprint software on my pager. But, guess what!! The problem remains and it was never fixed!! Then they told me to call the 800 number for a replacement in which I did two days ago.
And today, I had a surprise visit by one of our members of the church who rambled on and on about the problem this person was facing everyday. I reminded this person over and over that we shouldn't allow other people to control our emotions but only that God controls it and that we move on with our life taking responsibilities of ourselves. Well, this person still rambled on talking about the second person and how he/she really affected this person. I apologized if I am not making sense here but does all this look familiar? Have you or are you going through this type of worldly harrassments. I feel like I need to go to the Human Resources in Heaven and file a complaint.
Well! I did in a real selfish way. Being borderline with exhaustion, one thing piles on another, waiting and patiently waiting for an, oh please, good customer service, a guy cut in front of me when, all along, I have been waiting for 25 minutes. I asked the customer service lady that the guy cut in front of me and I have been standing here for 25 minutes. Her answer: "Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that.." Wow! And how does that make you feel! Steam brewing out of my ears. Lava coming up to my throat and ready to spew out of my mouth. I maintained composure but raised my voice a little bit. "Well, excuse me, I have been here for 25 and this guy who just got in a minute ago is there!" Her answer with a smile, "Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that." Ouch! I just looked away because I know I'll cause a big commotion that a SWAT team would need to be called!! (Kidding...) Actually, it's a diversion from the worse-case scenario!!
Ephesians 4:26-27 (GN) says, "If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin and do not stay angry all day. Don't give the devil a chance."
Did Jesus ever sin when He was angry about people trashing God's temple? No! He knew that they were violating the Lord's command and that a clean up was necessary. How do we know it's alright for a Christian to become angry? Oh, how I would love to toss all the phones on display around and on the floor. :) But that wouldn't solve anything.
Don't let anger hang on. Anger that is not dealt with turns into resentment and then into bitterness. Bitterness is always sin. Resentment is always sin. Those emotions are always wrong. Anger is OK. It's an appropriate response. If you love, you ought to get angry sometimes. I get angry when I see people blowing their lives on things that don’t matter. I get angry when I see people walking right in the middle of something they know is wrong and they know it is going to destroy them. When you care about people, sometimes anger is the correct response.
But the Bible says you need to deal with it quickly. If I swallow my anger, my stomach keeps score. Have you found that to be true? All tied in a knot. Ulcer-ridden. You have a pain in the back, or a pain in the neck, or pain in other places. The Bible says, Deal with it quickly. Don't let it hang on. Resolve conflict as fast as possible.
A lot of stress is just conflict that's never been dealt with. Instead of dealing with the problem right off the bat, you just let it irritate you day after day after day ...
...until you’re totally stressed.
I thank God for the opportunity of a reprieve. I think it's ridiculously silly to dwell on such a small problem (Satan loves to make it look like a big problem).. But, ha! I know Satan is a pure-bred liar!! I am not going to let this weight bear down on my heart. Yes, I was angry, for a short time. Then I simply lift that anger up to God. He's the problem solver of my everyday encounters, whether good or bad.
At least, I will be happy once the new TREO 650 arrives in the mail for a trade. Let the old be gone and the new come! As always, whatever we are angry about drifts away into age and we're given a new life to move on! Are you still angry about something? Stressed? Then you know why? Give it to God...
6 comments:
Hi Mark,
You and I are much alike in some ways! Yes, we sometimes go through different kinds of tests that God ALLOWS US TO DEVELOP TO GROW MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS.
I SOMETIMES GET ANGRY ENOUGH TO RISE UP AGAINST THE UNFAIRNESS AND WICKEDNESS TO KEEP ME FROM ENJOYING MY DAYS. OFTEN, I GET MAD AT OTHER PEOPLE WHEN I SHOULD BE MAD AT THE DEVIL AND HIS DEMONS. IT HAS BEEN QUITE A CHALLENGE FOR ME.
DOWN THE ROAD, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE SPIRITUALLY VIOLENT SO WE NEED THE WORD TO KEEP US SANE AND WE ALSO DO NOT WANT TO GRIEVE OUR HOLY SPIRIT. AGAIN, I ALWAYS ASK GOD FOR HIS STRENGTH AND HIS HELP!
MARK, I SUGGEST THAT YOU CHECK WITH THE SCRIPTURE OF 1 PETER 5:7. IT SAYS, "CAST ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON HIM BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU." NIV
I AM SURE YOU ALREADY KNOW IT! SMILE! LET US BIND IT AROUND OUR NECK!
I AM WITH YOU! LET US CAST OUR CARES ON THE LORD EVERYDAY. I AM GLAD YOU ALREADY DID TODAY! KEEP AT IT UNTIL SATAN DROPS DEAD!
MARK, LET US NOT LIVE UNDER CONDEMNATION AND GUILT! REMEMBER PHILIPPIANS 3:12-13-14, IT SAYS, "NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED ALL THIS OR HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE PERFECT, BUT I PRESS ON TO TAKE HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS TOOK HOLD OF ME. BROTHERS, I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF YET TO HAVE TAKEN HOLD OF IT, BUT ONE THING I DO: FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND AND STRAINING TOWARD WHAT IS AHEAD, PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN THE PRIZE FOR WHICH GOD HAS CALLED ME HEAVENWARD IN CHRIST JESUS."
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO FIND TIME TO REST, REFRESH, AND PRAY TO GOD!
YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE SO PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!
HOLLY
Peace, brother, peace! I feel for you! You need to go to Gold's gym and do extreme cardio workout! Beleive me, you will feel much better!
Because of Jesus, I have peace with God. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
Mark, your struggles with anger reminds me SO MUCH of my own struggles. Nowadays, it seems that I have the ability to keep anger from tearing into my heart or getting lava to spill out of my mouth. :) So .. I'm with Dennis ... PEACE, Mark ... PEACE. Stress can definitely get to you ... without stress, it's hard to get angry.
One question ... before that surprise visit, did you pray or did you at least pray with that person that the talk will include God and that you ask Him to help guide you two to have a good talk with a good peaceful outcome? And by the way, I stopped by your office right after you left! I would have loved to help calm you down. :) Cuz I had good news to tell you! Ah well! I think you'll figure it out via my email to you. So peace ... tell yourself to "let it go ... let it go" (and tell this in sign language, too ... sign it to yourself). That's what I do and I'm still so at peace. :)
Thanks for sharing your feelings ... we care about you very much!
Monica
Mark, by the way, aren't pagers/cell phones so ADDICTIVE??? :) Sigh! But they are RELIABLE (when they work!)
Monica
Thanks for your comments!! I am doing just fine today.. For the first time this week, I feel so much better.. It was a constant battle trying to pry the devil off my soul.. He sticks like a magnet.. Ahhh, go figure.. I have braces.. Perhaps, that's the reason!! :)
Indeed, it's good to share my burdens with you all because I hate it when people think me and my family are perfect and that we don't have problems. UNTRUE!! We are human like you all!! It's a real blessing to have these problems and like you all, I do make mistakes like raising my voice at this lady.. Of course, I did asked the Lord for forgiveness. When I returned for the second round of customer service fight (winking here), I was looking for that lady to give her my apologies. But she wasn't there..
My anxieties have already been casted to the Lord a long time ago. I am not the kind of person that keep records. I don't have an "Anger Baggage". It's too burdensome to have them. Just let it cloud around you for a bit then let the wind of Scripture blow it away!!
Again, thanks for your comments. Love you all!!
Laura,
I must say, "Amen" to all that you have just said.. I believe there's a time for a test. Obviously, I haven't had a test in a while and it came to me as a surprise. I guess I wasn't prepared for that because for a long time, life seems to flow pretty smoothly. God has His reasons and I am sure glad that I got this opportunity to experience an "issue".. Surely, it helps me be aware of God's presence among the daily grind of my life.
Funny, if I say this, but I do need an ocassional problem to help me grow and depend on God's power because I, along with everyone in the world, am absolutely powerless!!
I agree with your last paragraph regarding things that may happen ahead of me for if the guy didn't cut in front of me.
Again, thanks for your loving encouragement and instruction. God is good!!
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