Ever had one of those days when the lights on the dashboard of your car light up? I know my old, original version Prius had that happen towards the end of my time owning it. Do you realize there are lights on the dashboard of life too and that anger is one of them? Interestingly enough as we head into the third day of our devotional that is going to be our topic. After searching for a devotional to kick off two days back, searching in the bible.com site for “dad” and scrolled through the many devotionals I have completed then this one just popped out from the scrolling, and here we go. Today’s devotional shares, “Most sin can be traced to one of these seven sins. So, know them. Fight them in your home. Fight them in your heart. Be the example that maybe you didn’t have growing up. You can learn to overcome the sin that’s holding you back.” So let’s take the next week to learn to be ready and prepared to fight them in our homes and hearts!
Scripture from today’s devotional:
‘Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. ‘
Proverbs 14:29
‘A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. ‘
Proverbs 15:18
‘Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. ‘
Proverbs 29:11
God’s Word is active and alive! God’s Word is the right place to turn when we are seeking wisdom and direction! God’s Word isn’t our last resort but rather should be our first place to search!
Let’s be the dads who are patient! Let’s be the dads who spend time in God’s Word in order to have understanding and allow the Holy Spirit to keep us from losing it and rather remain patient and calm even when the situation is heated! Let’s be the dads who avoid looking foolish by being quick-tempered! Let’s be the dads who are looking to be peacemakers rather than those who stir up conflict! Let’s be the dads who are patient and calm quarrels rather than hot-tempered and stirring up conflict! Let’s be the dads who can control our temper and as such help keep the situation calm! Let’s be the dads who don’t give full vent to rage because we know it won’t help the situation! Let’s be the dads who are interested in keeping situations calm!
Today’s devotional has been provided by Manhood Journey.
Reading through today’s devotional, here are some takeaways for me: (check out the devotional on your own too to see if you pick up other nuggets, and please share your findings in the comments)
For more information, please visit https://www.manhoodjourney.org/.
Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Anger“
- Today’s devotional starts with a statement that we should pause and consider what is it saying and what it means:
- “it’s okay to be angry”
- My first thought is that we need to make sure we don’t allow anger to control us and cause us to sin. Anger isn’t a sin but how we deal with anger can cause us to sin. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. God is big enough and tough enough and yet because of His character “God can only do that which is holy, just, and right.“
- I know we read about God’s righteous anger in scripture, like:
- ‘“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
- ‘God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. ‘ Psalms 7:11
- ‘So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. ‘ 2 Kings 17:18-19
- ‘When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” ‘ John 2:13-17
- ‘The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. ‘ 1 Kings 11:9-10
- We also find scripture about unrighteous anger like:
- ‘Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. ‘ Psalms 37:8
- ‘A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. ‘ Proverbs 15:18
- ‘And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ‘ Genesis 4:4-8
- Today’s devotional shares some examples of anger in scripture too:
- So we learn that “Anger in itself is not a bad or sinful thing“!
- Ever found that the anger you feel isn’t the “Holy anger but rather selfish anger“?
- So what is causing the light on your dashboard of life to light up because of anger? Put another way “what makes us angry and how do we respond to that anger“?
- Are you getting angry about the things that make God angry? Things like “child abuse, errant teaching, lying, gossip among believers, etc.“? Or do you have an anger problem?
- So let’s go back to the lights on the dashboard analogy. The light on the dashboard isn’t the problem, it is a visual to let you know there is a problem.
- Today’s devotional speaks to this in regards to anger as follows:
- Today’s devotional provides us wisdom and guidance on how to deal with anger issues:
- “Look Inward—What are the triggers that really set us off? Long lines? Traffic? College football team blowing a huge lead in the fourth quarter? (that last one might just be me) Identifying the triggers of our anger allows us to take a step back when they arise. “
- “Look Godward—Taking a second to pray in moments of anger moves our focus off us and onto God. Because most anger is selfish, taking the spotlight off of us tends to cool down the situation. Plus, only God can change a heart. The best way to put off anger is to put on forgiveness, understanding, and self-control. “
- Today’s devotional closes with this prayer that we can pray:
- Today’s devotional closes with something for us to reflect upon:
