Calm Down

As churning the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.
-Proverbs 30:33

Agitation. Jon Courson comments, "Rather than letting hurt feelings heal, those who continually revisit problems and rekindle the fire of misunderstanding will make the situation infinitely worse, as sure as stirring milk results in butter and wringing the nose brings forth blood."

Let's take an example. Your friend calls. She is livid. Her mother-in-law was domineering and rude on Christmas Day. Your friend is hurt and wants to vent. Okay, what kind of friend are you, really? A carnal friend would not just be sympathetic, she would add fuel tot he fire, adding criticism and reinforcing the woundedness. This does not help, and it is not true friendship, either.

As true godly friends, this very same encounter could take you both to a higher place, the Cross. First, just listen, but pray as you listen. Sometimes, when people share, they see things more clearly. Then ask, "How can I help? How can I encourage you in the Lord?" Then don't hang up until you've said, "Let's pray regarding your mother-in-law and let's pray for her, right now." I've heard it said that you cannot truly pray for someone and hate them at the same time.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

Live It Out!
Honestly, are you annoyed, irritated, even fuming at someone right now? Anger is a dangerous thing. Here are some tips to avoid the pitfalls and traps.

*Dont' call your friend to vent. Getting her riled up won't help.
*Don't just stuff your feelings either. That can turn to bitterness and resentment and depression.
*Take your anger to God, not just once, but again and again until it's gone.

-The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional; by Debbi Bryson; December 27; p. 378

 This spoke so clearly to me. I am agitated. A friend said something that caused me to feel angry, offended and then left me feeling deeply sad. For the remainder of the day I had trouble not rekindling the conversation that we had. I kept hearing her words over and over and it made me feel worse and worse. Today, I struggled to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). When my mind wandered to those thoughts, I turned it around to what God's Word says about friends and how we are to love others. I asked the Lord to show me areas where I have not been acting as a friend or loving her or others as I should. There was confession of areas where it was revealed I have sinned and supplication to help me act and respond more like Christ in the future and for help to forgive. I don't want to be angry and bitter.

 And as for the other part of this about venting, that too spoke to me. I have been the venter and the one to whom someone else has vented. There is practical advice here - pray! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Benefits of Being a Child of God

Image
In her book "Breaking Free", Beth Moore writes about five benefits God intends "to be the daily experience of every child of God." (p. 23) The first benefit is to know God and believe Him . Beth Moore writes that "one of your chief purposes on this planet is to know God intimately and with reverent familiarity. That intimate relationship begins, but was never intended to end, with what we call the 'salvation experience.' So the first question to ask yourself is, Have you received Christ as your personal Savior?" "One of the most beautiful elements of salvation is its simplicity. Christ has already done all the work on the cross. Your response includes four elements: 1) Acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself. 2) Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only He can save you. 3) Believe that His Crucifixion was for your personal sins and that His death was on your behalf. 4) Give Him your life and
Read more

Fuel Up with the Holy Spirit

Image
 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 Once we decide to get on the road with Jesus, we discover that the Bible is like a road map for our journey; helping us to live in a way that pleases God. If we spend time in the Word everyday, we will grow to be more like Jesus. A car needs gasoline in order to work. In order for you to keep going, you have to fill the tank up. Well, just like our physical bodies need food for energy, and cars need gasoline in order to go, our spiritual bodies need a kind of fuel too. This "fuel" is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and energy for life. We know that God created us. We know that Jesus saved us. But you might wonder who the Holy Spirit is. In John 14:16-17 we see that before Jesus was going to die on the cross, He told the disciples that God would send another Helper to help them. This w
Read more

A Clamorous Woman

Image
Photo Credit A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house. . . To call to those who pass by. . . "Whoever is simple, let him turn it here"; And as for him who lacks understanding, She says to him, "Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant." But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell. -Proverbs 9:13-18 (NKJV) A foolish woman is clamorous. To be clamorous is to murmur, growl, roar, rage, to be troubled, in an uproar, in a stir, a commotion, boisterous, turbulent, raging. Here is a big clue for us. Every one of these definitions describes anything but a meek and quiet spirit. Usually if we women make an uproar on the outside, it's because there's an uproar on the inside. A clamorous woman lures other people into her whirlpool - or maybe a better word is cesspool. I know that the first level of application of
Read more