In control

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry?  Why are you looking so sad? Do what is right. Then you will be accepted. If you don't do what is right,  sin is waiting at your door to grab you. It longs to have you.  But you must rule over it." ~ Genesis 4:6-7 (NIRV)

Two of my grandchildren were visiting me a few years ago and the younger one was pitching a great fuss because I didn’t give her a certain cereal.
   The older one shot her a motherly look and said, “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit!” Her sister grudgingly sat down and ate. After breakfast, the girls turned on the cartoons and quickly forgot all about the cereal battle.
   I know my granddaughter won’t come up to me years from now and ask, "Grandma, do you remember when you didn't give me the cereal I wanted?" But it is something I have done. Throughout my life, I have said, "I remember when so and so did such and such to me."
   I have an anger problem.
   The thing is, anger is only an emotion and is not good nor bad, it is what we do with anger that is good or bad. Life is full of not getting what we want but when we become angry, we cannot see anything clearly - not ourselves, not others, and not God.
   We have a choice to make.
   Ephesians 4:31, says, “get rid of all hard feelings, anger and rage. Stop all fighting and lying. Put away every form of hatred.”
   But how do we do it? The Psalmist tells us when we're angry, "do not sin. When you are in bed, look deep down inside you and be silent.” Most of the time I discover the things I am upset about are sins and flaws within me. Instead of transferring blame to someone else, I have a chance to step back, take a deep breath and change my response.
   Truly listening also helps. Pain and suffering are universal and listening to the trials that others face, and knowing Christ has died for them as well, changes our perspective.
   In Genesis, God asked Cain a question - trying to get him to do some self-examination. If Cain paid attention to God, he would have seen what he wanted. He wanted to please God and be accepted. God wanted this for him as well and would have helped him to achieve it. Instead, he chose to ignore God and killed his brother Abel.
   In Ephesians the writer commands us, “do not give the Devil a chance.”
  When I blow up, all I am doing is giving the enemy a foothold. Even in righteous anger (when we are in line with God’s anger and when someone else or our own lives are being threatened) it helps to get a clear view of the situation, then ask God how to handle it.
   We are not alone! God has always been our greatest ally.
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Peggy is a freelance writer and poet with several published articles with various e-zines and Tyndale House. One of her devotionals, 'Two Women'  will be featured in CrossRiver's upcoming devotional, 'The Benefit Package.' Her current writing projects are a thriller and a memoir. She has earned her apprenticeship and journeyman certificates with Christian Writer's Guild. To learn more about Peggy, check out her blog peggyannkennedy.blogspot.com