Anger

This is one thing I am totally guilty about and need to confess everyday.  I have a short fuse.  I get irritated so easily and can lash out a person to death by my words.  Before I became a Christian, I believed that my anger is reasonable... is justified.  I usually say - "this is me, I can't control it."  And I never knew it  was a SIN.   I never realized that when I get angry and do not hold off words from my mouth, it leads to people around me getting hurt, feel sorry about themselves or bringing them down.  It may ignite a fight or a feeling of resentment. All I thought before -  I was doing the right thing and that the person will learn not to do such thing anymore that can make me angry.  IT WAS SELFISH.

And so now, I am asking for God's mercy and power to guide me as I go through His anger management class.  I ask of the Holy Spirit to greatly convict me when my blood starts to boil.  I don't want to make a fool out of myself.  As the bible says-

Proverbs 29:11 (NIV)
A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man keeps himself under control


I am set to straight this thing out with me before I will realize that having no self control on my anger costs me my family or friends already.

I am going to make it one step at a time.  The very basic on how to control anger is to become slow to it.  And I want to share a devotional from Rick Warren that gave me the best action plan for my quest to controlling my anger:

When you’re angry, don’t respond impulsively. Delay is a great tool in controlling anger. I'm not saying delay indefinitely or even beyond a day; the Bible says don't go to sleep when you're angry. I'm talking about delaying it for five minutes.

When you start to get ticked off, take "time out" for a few minutes. Give yourself some time to reflect and think through the situation. If you don't stop and think, you are likely to do the wrong thing. You need to reflect before you respond.

When we get angry, we need to make a habit of stepping back, waiting a few minutes, and then looking at the situation from God's point of view. Notice how the Bible says a wise man lets his anger cool down (Proverbs 29:11). So, "cool it" is a Biblical term! A modern translation might be: “The wise man waits and chills out.” Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, said, “When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.”

And so I pray,

Father, forgive me for sinning in anger and for hurting people I love because of this. Be patient with me and empower me as I go through the challenge of changing myself in Jesus Christ likeness.  I cannot do this on my own strength so I ask for your strength. I thank you Lord because you called me and saved me.  And I want to become a living testimony to your power of changing people.

I ask these in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen