HEALING ANGER

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, and as a child of 10 years old, I wanted to be playing outside, but for some reason, I was told to stay in the house and to sit on the couch. I can’t remember ever being that angry before, but I was violently ticked off.

Reaching over to the Sunday funny papers that lay along side of me, I hastily grabbed them, and viciously and quickly, tore them into small shreds.

My dad was in his chair, reading the sports section and he jumped up with a hop, into the kitchen, grabbed “the belt,” and with a skip he jerked me up and submitted a sound whipping to the back of my legs and back side.

When he had fulfilled his own anger, he explained to me that I did not get the thrashing because he had not read the funnies, but it was because I had destroyed something in a fit of anger. The lesson here of course was not to break, hit, tear or destroy something while angry. I learned a personal lesson, and that was not to display anger, but to hold it in.

When my children were growing up, I took out my anger on them. To hear them tell it, they received a beating every day of their early lives. Later as they grew older, the punishment turned to a short “time out,” giving them time to ponder what they had done.
Usually apologies were quick, and that would settle it, and it was considered closure.

My anger continued, turning into resentment and depression, with no outlet in sight. Repentance did not solve it, and I was at a loss for a cure!

One eventful day, I read a pamphlet written by Derek Prince. He spoke of all the emotions inside of us that could, and would destroy our peace. His solution was a Spiritual plan that involved, “Binding and Loosening.” The steps were simple enough.

Step 1. Find a quiet place where you can be alone and when time is not pressing!
Step 2. Desire to be set free from the disturbing emotion, or habit that is troubling you.
Step 3. Ask the Lord to show you the name of the problem you seek freedom from.
Step 4. Pause and wait. – There is no hurry.
Step 5. As you begin to realize an unwanted emotion, confess to God that you do NOT want to keep it, and release it to Him. Name it.
Step 6. Ask the Lord to show you a replacement and trade the bad with an opposite and good emotion to take its place. Name it.
Step 7. Tell Him that you receive the new, and then thank Him for his peace.
Step 8. There may be more emotions that you are not aware of, so begin again until all that might be troubling you has been released, and replaced with the new and better.

It is extremely important to replace the old attitudes and emotions with the new, because you cannot afford to have a clean but empty house!

Matthew 12:43-45, When the unwanted spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and clean. Then goes he, and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Now fill your spirit with praise and worship to God and with his Word.

This post was written in response to Bridget Chumbley's One Word carnival. The now word is Healing! Check it out at her site.
http://www.bridgetchumbley.com/