Snap Attack -Anger Rages
12th October 2007
Helping you find peace and calm within.
The Fire Rages:
Experience taught me that whatever makes you angry should be dealt with as a matter of priority. The root of anger has to be removed from your life so that you can be free from its grip. When anger issues fester, it creates a breeding ground for ailments that the doctor cannot find – it is cancerous. I often am reminded that getting angry is not a sin unless you act on that anger. If you’ve often heeded this, you’ve done well. But though you may not have acted on it, if you hold on to anger (nursing it like a baby) it robs you in various ways, such as your health and your blessings.
The enemy will use any avenue that is left open and unattended, to operate. Therefore, leaving an opening in your heart where bitterness and resentment can grow, is an invitation to the devil into your life. The devil only needs a little opening, so be careful to fill your heart with love, so that hate cannot grow.
I have seen the spirit of negativity enter the ‘Father’s House’ on various occasions (through leaders filled with rage), leaving behind what can best be described as the after-effects of a tornado. Serious damage have been done to individuals, many times resulting in ineffective ministries.
I would watch, in disgust, as the people who were meant to be teaching me from the Word were doing a terrible impersonation of Christ. I was not being set a good example, neither was my husband, a young believer, craving a deeper understanding of God. The environment did not provide for spiritual growth and I was starving. I needed soul food.
The longer we stayed in that environment the more the negativity was rubbing off on us. We could not envisage it being the place where our child would get the opportunity to build on what he was already learning at home and get the opportunity to know the Lord for himself. If my faith did not have deep roots, I would have died a horrible spiritual death. Having recognised this and realised that the people we were then fellowshipping with were quite comfortable in their state of blindness, we started looking for another group we could fellowship with.
Hypocrisy:
Having found a place of fellowship and now receiving the soul food we craved, I started to wonder what makes individuals look at people in the church and use the phrase ‘hypocrites’. I find that this often is the first thing that comes to mind when one professes one thing and does the opposite.
Getting angry is an emotion, however when we act on this emotion (irrationally) we can do serious damage. This is where the most damage is done in our Christian walk. We get angry at a situation, rant and rave then say or do something silly that will find us living in regret and having to seek out ways to show forgiveness.
In other cases we totally ignore the consequences of acting on our anger and having inflicted pain and hurt on others we carry on with our lives and ministries as if nothing had happened. In cases like this we lose credibility, our ministry becomes ineffective and we are seen as hypocrites because we do not practice what we preach.
Many profess Christ but only a few actually possess Him. If your ministry is based on the Word so will your life. If your life is a living example, then you will not easily fall for the tricks of the enemy.
Outbursts of Anger:
Angry outbursts are of the ‘old nature’ – not of Christ. Possessing Christ will see the fruit of the Spirit ignited within us, quenching the anger within, before we are tempted to act on it. So when you next feel that ‘old nature' returning, please remember the proverb which state that ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath’.
Warning:
Wait until you are calm to analyse the situation. If it is a criticism, chastisement etc. not grounded in selfish ambitions but rooted in the Word, then take heed, do not retaliate. If it is the raising of a point/situation which needs addressing so that all concerned can benefit, then seek God’s guidance in how best to move forward instead of dismissing it at the time it is raised. You may believe, at the time, it isn’t important or be inclined to dismiss it because it doesn’t fit in with your current strategy but 'chewing it over' may bring a new light to you and addressing it could be the key to the church' or an individual's growth.
The Plan Fulfilled:
God should be honoured in all that you do and if one soul should be saved from the pits of hell by you addressing this issue then God’s plan would be fulfilled in that area of your ministry and that saved life.
Sometimes God uses these individuals to bring about the change you are praying and waiting for. If someone brings to your attention, the error of your ways, instead of snapping at that person and causing that situation to escalate into a mountain rather than remaining in its true state as a pebble, thank God for the revelation. You as the leader should then seek His guidance to know if it is His will to move in that direction. Lean not on your own understanding.
Continue to Grow:
As a leader, you too must continue to grow or you cannot be of help to those you lead. Constructive criticism and chastisement are there to help you grow. The Lord chastises those He loves. So be thankful when the opportunity for growth presents itself.
The damage caused by angry outbursts:
Allowing anger to fester will keep you in a stagnant position, providing room for more outbursts and fertilizer for bitterness and resentment. Open the cupboard of your heart and see if there are any anger trees growing that need to be rooted. Your ministry cannot grow with such obstacle in the way.
If there is an uprooting process taking place right now, then the forgiveness is open to all and at all hours of the day. That’s where you need to make your first stop.
Forgive and be Forgiven:
Do you need to forgive and/or be forgiven? Repeat the 'Our Father' prayer as found in Mathew 28 and meditate on the words then apply it to your life. If you need to forgive or accept forgiveness then get on with the matter at hand. Apply to your life, the truth you’ve been reminded of and move on into the fullness of life God promises. When you walk by His Word you will be blessed and you will receive the desires of your heart - all that He has promised to you.
Copyright 2007, J. S. Ramkissoon
