Leave Anger In Bed

"The greatest remedy for anger is delay." -Thomas Paine

            There is perhaps no more passionate an emotion in the whole spectrum of human emotions than anger. It can be a powerful motivator and it can be a wrath of terror, it can inspire me to do great things and it can also cause me to do terrible things by making rash decisions. While at first glance anger may appear to be sinful, it is not actually a sin in of itself; for even Jesus, God’s perfect Son, got angry at the sites he beheld on the steps of the Tabernacle. But His anger was a righteous one from heaven roused by the sin that He saw, and that is the key point. Are my angry thoughts centered on sin, or are they centered on my own selfish desires? If it is the latter, then I need to be mindful, for while being upset may not be a sin in of itself, it can easily lead me to do things which are not right. “Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight.” (James 1:20) “…for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” (Ephesians 5:27)

            This is why I have found that the greatest solution for those times that I am feeling angry is to take a step back from the situation and to ask God to fill the void. Oftentimes all that is needed is a little time and a little perspective. I can supply the time and if I only ask, God can provide the perspective. By going to Him in prayer when I am upset, He quiets my mind and puts my heart at ease. Sometimes I realize that what made me angry in the first place was foolish. Other times my temper was stirred for legitimate reasons, but regardless of whether I am wrong or I am right in my anger, God calls me to react in the same way: first with patience, then with love, and lastly with cheerful obedience. If I have patience before responding to my emotions and use that time to focus on God’s love, then I will be open and willing to obey what He calls me to do. For over and over again, the Bible praises those who can control (notice it does not say to live without) their anger, “Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.” (Psalms 4:4) And this is what God typically leads me to do: When I am upset with someone, I try not to confront them right then and there about it: for how many times does the Bible warn me of my tongue? No doubt I am bound to make things far worse by saying something foolish and hurtful out of hate. Rather, it is best to request time away from that person in a friendly manner, and then spend it contemplating my qualms and praying for guidance. In this way, when it is time to make peace, I am in a spirit of forgiveness and understanding rather than one of anger and spite. I cannot say how many times I have gone to bed upset and angry, only to wake up with love and forgiveness in my heart after a night of prayerful meditation. God truly does provide the perspective if only I give Him the time.

            Dear Father, please work in my heart today. You know the things that upset me and that have upset me in the past. Please do not let me to act quickly in my anger, but rather to offer it up to you. Calm my spirit and help me to think straight. Tell me what to do through your word and through my thoughts. Give me a spirit of peace and a heart so full of love that I cannot hold any bitterness towards those who have wronged me. Help me to love them Lord as you have called me to love all. Help me to forgive or to ask for forgiveness. Help me to humble myself as you have called all to humble themselves before you. Please work in my life Father so that I am slow to anger and quicker to turn to you. In your heavenly name I pray, Amen.

Deceiving Myself From God's Vision

"The trite saying that honesty is the best policy has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy." -General Robert E. Lee

            The other night I was lying in bed thinking about things in my life that ‘hang me up’ in my relationship with God. To be frank, I was trying to justify my sinful nature in His eyes, or rather my own. What I was really doing however, was deceiving myself into believing that what I was doing was ok. Since there are so many things that aren’t specifically mentioned in the Bible, it’s often easy for me to do this by thinking things like, ‘oh, I don’t know if God really thinks this is bad’ and ‘it may not be good, but it’s not bad either, it’s just neutral’. It seems that I can never quite convince myself that something questionable is completely right in God’s eyes: it’s impossible to cover up a deep stain on a white shirt. However, it’s not very difficult to just accept whatever sin it is as something in between, not good or bad, but neutral. I tell myself things like ‘God doesn’t really care one way or another about this’ and if all else fails, I chalk it up to my own naïvety of His true feelings on the matter. What I am really doing though, is lying to myself.

            I was running through this routine of self-deception that other night when all of a sudden a thought not of my own, came into my head: ‘If it is not good in God’s eyes, then it is bad.’ I know it sounds like a very simple thought, and it is really, but it was a revelation to my mind and at once, all my thoughts, all my rationalizations, all my self-deceptions came to a halt. Perhaps I truly cannot convince myself that it is sin in God’s eyes, but at the same time, I know that I cannot convince myself that He sees it as good, and if that is the case, then it is not good. God deals in absolutes; we’re the ones who muddy things up by pretending they’re grey. If we would only remove the filters of our deception, we would see that in reality, there is only black and white. It is either pleasing to God or it is not. And if it is not pleasing to God, then why would I want to do it? “Remember, it is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:17) It is time that I put down the blinds and accept the truth, for I should not just do right because God tells me to. This is not true to the Spirit and will always lead me back down the same path. Instead, I should be honest with God and honest with myself because it is my own desire to be after God. Only then will I be able to put aside the rationalizations and the lies, and instead focus on Him.

            Dear Father, I am in sin. I try to tell myself that I am doing right. I try to tell myself that I am doing no wrong. But it’s all lies. It’s all a clever deception wrapped around my eyes and keeping me from seeing the truth. Lord, please let me see your truth today. Speak it to my heart and be with me to keep this from happening again in the future. Give me your strength to overcome my temptations and fix my sight on the one true vision of your love and your mercy and your grace. Let that eternal light be my vision and not the darkness that surrounds me. I pray all these things in your name. Amen.

Not Letting Mistakes Distract From God

"A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous." -Alexander Hamilton

            I make mistakes, it’s in my nature. Even when I mean good and try my best with the best intentions, I still slip up every now and then. In every error there is a lesson to be learned, but even though I can learn it and try my best not to repeat it, that doesn’t change the reality that mistakes are bound to happen. So why then should I get so wrapped up in one or two of them? The fact is that what is done is done. God calls me to learn and to move on, rather than dwelling in the past and allowing it to consume me. Even Paul confessed, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.” (Philippians 3:12)

            The important thing to remember is that God is always there to pick me up when I fall down, and that He still has big plans for my life, even if it seems as if my mistakes are clouding the future. Only God knows my heart, and God knows that so long as I have faith in Him, He will provide my spirit with all that it needs. “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24) And so, why should I allow myself to get caught up in one error or another? Instead, I should acknowledge them and move on. After all, mistakes are bound to happen in life, and I’ve got a lot of living to do!

            Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for always being with me, even when I make mistakes. Whether they’re big or small, none are too big for you. You open my eyes and my heart with every new breath and fill me with the resolve of your Spirit. I pray Lord that when I do slip up, that you would be with me, help me to learn from my mistakes, and help me to move on, rather than allowing them to rattle and consume me. I just pray in this day Lord, that you would show me your way and bless me in all that I do. In your name I pray, Amen.

I'm Back

First off, I'd just like to apologize to all of my friends and followers for disappearing for a bit there. Over Christmas Break I didn't get to spend nearly as much time as I had wanted to on writing new devotionals, and I felt it important to focus squarely on classes the first couple of weeks this semester until I got a handle on things. I finally feel that my schedule has fallen into place, and now I am ready to resume! An important change I have decided to make to accommodate my schedule is to start posting new devotionals on Mondays and Fridays, instead of Mondays and Thursdays. Hopefully that works out. All I can say right now is how thankful I am to be here and I hope in this new year that the thoughts God lays upon my heart are somehow able to speak to you as well.

A Continual Christmas

"A good conscience is a continual Christmas." - Benjamin Franklin

            Why is it that I love the Christmas season so much? I mean, it seems as if eleven months of the year I lay dormant, waiting in great expectation for those four weeks or so between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day dubbed the ‘Christmas Season’. By the time it finally arrives I am nearly bursting at the seams with excitement and anticipation, but to my dismay, just as quickly as it comes, it’s already over. If that weren’t bad enough, I find that it flies by faster and faster every year, leaving me to again wonder: What is it that makes this time of the year so exciting? Well, the obvious answer is that Christmas is a day that marks the birth of my lord and savior Jesus Christ, without whom I would have no hope of life after death. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) But this is something I already think about and give praise for everyday, so what makes December so special?

            I think I would be remiss if I ignored the joy of generosity that also accompanies the Christmas Season. While this is easy to overlook as a Christian due to the widespread secularization of the holiday and its ever-growing association with buying stuff, I still believe it is an important part of the Christmas spirit. After all, was not Jesus God’s gift to the entire world? The Bible is about love, and love fosters humility and generosity in man. So in a way, I suppose the root of Christmas is really love. But are love and generosity things that I should save up all year only to express in the dead of winter? Of course not! They are things that I should extend year round as a constant reminder of God’s great gift to me. “But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love… You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:24, 35) Therefore, the Christmas Season is not something that I should live only one month out of every year. Rather, it should be something that I live to the fullest everyday: praising the Lord for his grace and extending that grace and generosity to everyone I meet. In this way, the joy and excitement of Christmas will never fade.

            Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for this time of the year in which I get to celebrate the birth of your son and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray though Lord that I would not only give praise and thanks for this, and all the blessings in my life, just on designated dates and holidays, but rather that you would have me live my life every single day in a way that gives all the praise and glory to you. Please help me to live generously, humbly, lovingly… Let others see these characteristics in me, but instead of attributing them to me, I pray Lord that they would see them come from you and that they would in turn praise you from whom all blessings flow. Thank you Jesus, and in your holy name I pray, Amen.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope the Lord blesses each of you wherever you are and that in this time of joy and giving, you are able to take a few minutes to ponder the greatest gift all. Travel safe if you're traveling and enjoy the time with your family and friends!

I'll be back next week with new posts. :)

God Will Show Me What Needs Changing

"I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself." -General Robert E. Lee

            There have been many times in my life that a fantastic opportunity passed me by and I was left wondering, ‘Lord, why didn’t that work out?’ Perhaps it was an opportunity to strengthen my academic resume, or a chance to work or volunteer somewhere, or a new possible relationship: whatever the case, it didn’t go the way that I had wanted and I can’t help feeling as if I missed out on something great. In times such as these, it is easy for me to blame God or others for my misfortunes without taking the time to understand why the door was closed in the first place. In many instances, the Lord simply had a different plan for my life, and when looking back at it way down the road, it becomes clear why He had things go the way that they did. However, there are other times that it really would have been a great opportunity and I cannot understand why it worked out differently. It is in these times that I need to examine myself.

            Part of trusting my life to the Lord is trusting that He knows what is best for me. This means that God will not entrust me with opportunities or experiences that I’m not ready for. How then am I to prepare myself? Well, it could be that I need to spend more time in the Word, or more time talking with God. Sometimes I need to grow in some aspect of my faith; whether it be patience or humility or trust. “But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.” (Romans 4:5) More often than naught however, there is some aspect of sin in my life that the Lord is telling me to address. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.” (Romans 12:2) Just as a driver would never hand the keys to their car over to someone who had totalled multiple cars, God will not bless our endeavors if we are first not right with Him. This is not to say that good things don’t ever happen to bad people, but in the end, it almost always works out terribly for them. God does not want me to have to endure learning from my mistakes, He would rather me get it right the first time. But pride and an unwillingness to change often gets in the way, and in those instances I am forced to reap what I sow. How lucky then am I that God looks out for me! Therefore, I should not become confused or upset when something doesn’t work out. Rather, I should examine the reasons why it didn’t, and if there is something in my life that I first need to change; then I should change it. God always knows what is best.

            Dear Lord, you know what is best for my life. You know why certain things go one way and others go another. I trust in you Lord, that you would guide my life in accordance to your will. I pray this day that if there is anything in my life that I need to change, any sinful desires or wicked ways, that you show them to me so that I do not miss out on the wonderful opportunities and blessings you have in store. Help me to be an example Lord for others of the way you call us all to live, and in your name I pray, Amen.