The temptation to open my mouth and tell her off rises up in me. 🙄. Lord help me, I pray. She is angry and spewing off at the mouth and it’s landing all over me. I am innocent of wrongdoing, but I am the ‘unfortunate one in the path of her anger’.
Ever have moments like that?
Years ago I would have blown my stack and given back a double portion. This is a testimony of how far You have brought me, Lord. I used to have a terrible temper but I am a new creature now.
“Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 MEV
When I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and began to earnestly serve Him, one of the first things Holy Spirit revealed in me was that quickly and easily losing my temper the way I did was not who I was created to be.
Do I really want to spend my life being angry and causing conflict or reacting to it? NO
I remember thinking to myself ‘ I don’t want to live like that, Lord. How do I change me?’ The desire to want to do better and asking the Lord to help me was the first and best step I could have taken.
“God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way— the path that brings me back to you.” Psalm 139:23-24 TPT
Abba Father has given us the gift of GRACE. What is grace? Merriam-Webster defines grace as:
: unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
: a virtue coming from God
: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance
:approval, favor
archaic: mercy, pardon
I am given an abundance of grace by my Father in heaven. Not because of who I am, but because of WHO HE IS. But I am not meant to hold on to all of this grace; I am meant to dispense it to others.
God has mercy on me and pardons me on a regular basis. How can I not give mercy and pardon to someone else?
God’s Word has a powerful scripture that I have applied to those moments when I believe anger may enter the room and words may begin to fly. “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 NIV
I laugh when I think of the number of times I have tried to open my mouth with an angry retort only to find my jaw locked tight and my lips glued shut. 🤣. Or I hear Holy Spirit say “Shhh, don’t say it” or “No”.
God is SO GOOD!
And for those rare occasions when I didn’t hear His voice and managed to open my big mouth, I repent and receive His grace and forgiveness. And then, I give myself permission to forgive myself. And then I ask the ‘unfortunate one who happened along my path of anger’ to forgive me.
My heart has been changed. The shrew, in me, has been tamed. With His guidance, I can now say to my friend “I’m so sorry you’re going through that. Let’s pray about it.”
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 NIV
I thank You Lord.
Blessings to you, my friend.
SeekHisGoodness
