Our Family Time with God

Oct. 28, 2009

LEARN TO CONTROL

YOUR EMOTIONS

Scripture Reading--Proverbs 16:32

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;

and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

I love a good war story in which soldiers, against all odds, defeat a superior enemy or defend some faraway outpost. Historians have documented soldiers who narrowly cheated death, cleverly escaped from prison, and helped their fallen comrades to safety.

Proverbs 16:32 says that those who control their anger are stronger than the general who captures a city. For citizens to properly defend their city, they must build reinforced walls that can resist the strongest and cleverest of enemies. As history records, victorious armies break down walls by every possible means. They ram them, burn them, climb them, and blow them up. Sometimes days, weeks, even months pass before an army can destroy the walls. But destroying walls was the key! Those who could break down the walls could destroy the city.

What does it take to destroy you? Satan is always devising new schemes to attack, to wound, and to defeat besieged believers. He wants to break us down, too. Walls we build in our lives are the greatest defense against our enemies. Having self-control that prevents emotions from getting out of control is a great wall. Yet many Christian are easily angered.

Good soldiers are disciplined during war. When pressures come, they are confident their walls will not tumble down. Good families must exhibit the same discipline amid the stresses of life. We must have strong walls to be successful in life.

People disappointments, unfulfilled expectations, and failures visit the best of Christians; but we must never yield to the vice of anger.

APPLICATION: If you have an anger problem in the home, confess it now. Proverbs 16:32 says that we should be "slow to anger." Resolve anger quickly before the enemy finds your weakness.

--Jeff Kahl--