Week 4 | Day 4 | Mind Your Reactions

Command:

Do not be angry. Matthew 5:21-25 (NIV)

Read:

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. Eph 4:26-27 (NIV)

Reflect:

The most regrettable moments in my life are when I neglect to check strong emotions. Especially when anger flashes, and I react rather than pause and think. Nothing good ever happens next. Instead, I harm others with my angry words and looks.

Anger is an involuntary limbic reaction to a real or perceived threat. Abuse, however, is a choice. There is never an excuse for abuse. Unchecked anger infects the soul with resentment and bitterness. Purge it from your mind quickly. 

Don’t let anger fester into resentment or retaliation. This creates space in your soul for the destroyer to operate, eroding your quality of life. “Do not give an opportunity to the devil.” The Greek word for opportunity is topos, as in topography — territory, space in your soul. Holding space in your thoughts for resentment grants the enemy territory in your soul to infect you with the virus of bitterness. 

There is always a gap between every trigger and your angry reaction to it. The presence of Christ is always in that gap. When anger arises, pause and move your mind into that gap. Bring your mind under the influence of Christ and see the person or situation through the filter of his “Ways”. This allows a thoughtful response to whoever or whatever triggered the anger, rather than a mindless reaction. Now you can delete any record of the wrong done to you and operate in Christ’s love, because love “is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”. 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)

React:

Angry drama is common in our culture. “But this is not the way of life that Christ has unfolded within you. If you have really experienced the Anointed One, and heard his truth, it will be seen in your life; for we know that the ultimate reality is embodied in Jesus”! Ephesians 4:20-21 (TPT)

Pray:

Lord Jesus, may I “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. James 1:19-20 (NIV)