Getting up when knocked down. #5  - Turning anger into positive action | Pastor George Lehman

Getting up when knocked down. #5 
Turning anger into positive action

Pastor George Lehman



This may just be a title; but if we are not alert it can have devastating consequences.

 

It is wise to direct your anger towards problems, not people; to focus your energies on answers, not excuses.        

         -W.A. Ward

 

When we angry we treat people harshly, we blame and make excuses.

The call to live in victory in this area of your life is not impossible with God’s help and a surrendered will.



May God stir within us the will to want to change.

If you have no real victory in this area of your life, you’ll keep getting knocked down.



Story about Tommy Bolt, who was a professional golf champion, but he was more famous for his terrific temper.  Huge crowds followed him just to see what he would do next.  One day, giving a group lesson on how to hit a ball out of a bunker, he called his 11-year-old son and said, “Show the people what you’ve learned from your father when your shot lands in the sand.  The boy picked up the wedge then ‘hurled it as far as he could’.

 

Most of us allow anger to get the best of us at times

According to a ‘boiling point report’ (sponsored by Britain’s Mental Health Organisation) …

More than 1 in 10 people said they have real trouble controlling their anger.
More than 1 in 4 said they worry about how angry they sometimes feel.
64% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that people in general are getting angrier.

We all know what happens to us when we become angry or mad.



Adrenaline floods our system.
Our heart rate rises with our blood pressure.
Muscles tense; breathing is shallow.

Anger is extremely bad for your health.



You hear about road rage or anger management in the media.



Many people believe that all anger is bad.  (Not true).



There are times when it’s appropriate to be angry in response to cruelty or injustice.  If an intruder invaded your home or if someone threatened your children.



Jesus became angry…John 2:15 (NIV) - …when he made a whip and chased the people out of the temple.



Acts 17:16 (Amp) - Now while Paul was awaiting them at Athens, his spirit was grieved and roused to anger as he saw that the city was full of idols.



Many of the knock downs we endure in life make us angry.

Always bear in mind:  Anger is just one letter short of D-anger.



Here are some examples.  Consider where your life best fits.

The exploder

Exploders are like active volcanoes – sometimes a little shaking is all it takes to produce a massive eruption.
These are the kind of people who yell, break things, curse and make demands when things don’t go their way.
Being subtle is not in their vocabulary when they’re MAD.
They are quick to blow up and usually quick to calm down. People around them feel covered with LAVA!



Ephesians 4:31 (CEV) - Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude.



The Victim

Victims struggle with expressing their emotions.

Their anger remains bottled up and unresolved.

Rather than showing their anger, they turn it inward on themselves.

They smother their spirit through self-belittlement, blame and guilt.



“I can’t do anything right” comes out of their mouths frequently.

Victims often suffer from hypertension and headaches.

They may cling to others to the point of driving them away.



The Manipulator

Manipulators, likewise, hide their anger.  They don’t raise their voice or curse (like the exploder).



Instead of turning their anger inward, they lash out at others with sarcasm, subtle comments to inspire guilt.



They use any method - authority, money, power.

Leaving those around them feeling used and abused.



The Rager

Rager’s often were raised by controlling parents.

As grown-ups, they’re angry at the world – ready to attack at even slight provocation.
Their consistent fury pushes others away and leads to frequent disputes.



They tend to see the worst in everything and everyone.

To protect themselves from hurt, they make anger their mode of operation.



Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.



Remember: Your anger may be justified.  It’s okay to be angry, BUT keep this very clearly in mind…

 

Ephesians 4:26 (Amp) - When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.



We can use that anger to fuel a constructive plan of action.

What I highly recommend is another style…RELEASE!

The Releaser

Instead of taking on the role of the victim, exploder, manipulator or Rager when crises strike.



The approach is:  ‘feel it’ then ‘use it’ then ‘let it go.”



Releasers don’t try to hide their anger or unleash it on innocent bystanders but embrace their outrage and use it as a signal to adopt a strategy for positive action.



#1 Face most anger as sin.

Releasers don’t waste time blaming, shifting responsibility, feeling guilty or making excuses.



James 1:19-20 (Amp) – 19Understand [this], may beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. 20For man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires].



Anger is a work of the flesh.

Galatians 5:20 (Amp) - Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),



#2 Repent of anger.

Go to God and specifically confess your anger.

David understood what it meant to be a releaser.



Psalm 32:3-6 (LB) - 3There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was.  But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.  4All day and all night your hand was heavy on me.  My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day.   5Until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them.  I said to myself, “I will confess them to the Lord.”  And you forgave me!  All my guilt is gone.  6Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven.  Judgment will not touch him if he does.



When you confess with openness, humility and honesty, God will forgive and restore and renew you.



#3 Let go of your anger.

Hanging on to your anger is unhealthy and destructive.

Holding on to your anger doesn’t help you.  It just gets in the way of enjoying the rest of your life. Anger is a Joy Stealer.



Ephesians 4:31 (Amp) - Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).



Notice it’s a problem of the flesh that Paul says you can and must ‘get rid of all’.

God wants to help us walk in freedom from anger.

We must want to change and be active and determined to deal with our anger.

Times of refreshing and victory comes from a surrendered, repentant heart.

Acts 3:19 (Amp) - So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;