1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 - Anger Management

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 "See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (ESV)
Matthew 5:39 "But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (ESV)

One of the hardest situations for me to get over is if I think someone has violated my trust..........if I let it, the anger within me seems to burn...............and the longer I let it go without doing something about it, the deeper it burns.

I used to handle my anger by making it a point to respond in kind..............but rather than resolve the anger I had with that other person, this approach just made it worse. Anger feeds on the anger of others, and if not checked, can end up consuming a person in ever increasing cycles of emotion.

And there was a time when I dismissed both of the scriptures above as impractical at best. The way my thinking went then, that other person had stepped across the line, and the last thing that was in me was to want to do "good" to that other person. So I pretty much mired myself in the rut until I finally understood what the Lord has been trying to tell me.

And that only came after He worked with me to build our relationship to the point that I could understand what He was telling me. It was hard at first trying to follow the Lord's advice because I felt that I was being insincere...........two faced.........I just didn't like that other person so any attempt to reach out to him/her felt phony.

At some point I came across this scripture: "Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV))

At that point it became clear...........I must forgive first.........and again if I still need to.

But I also found out something through the process of learning............the more I stayed in God's Word.......the more I rejoiced......the more I stayed in a prayerful state.........the easier forgiving became........and the easier it was to look past that other person's faults and see their needs.

I'm still working at it.........and haven't arrived by a long shot, but the Lord hasn't given up on me. And as long as He's willing to help, who am I to turn my Lord down.

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

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This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on January 3, 2004 in post #445. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.

Page added April 17, 2006

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