Rule your spirit!

RULE YOUR SPIRIT!

Prov. 16:32

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that taketh a city."
We all get angry and we all have a need to express that emotion when the situation calls for it! God has no problem with that! Even the Lord got angry and expressed it when he went into the temple and saw them selling stuff for money. He turned those tables upside down and drove the vendors out of there. It was His temple, He could do that!

Anger is a natural emotion that must be expressed. The issue is in how we go about it. 
We have all been in situations where we wanted to 'Wipe The Floor' with a person, 'Tell Them Off', 'Slam Them', or 'Throw It In Their Face'. Perhaps on occasion, we have done exactly that.

I was in a situation, recently, where I became angry with just cause. I had archives of stuff that I could have unleashed on the person, but I held back. I expressed my anger in a respectable manner, telling the truth in love and letting them know how I felt. I didn't minimize the situation or sugar coat it. Despite their bitter, angry, hateful comments, I held my ground. After a while, I realized that they were more interested in 'Slinging Hash', and 'Tossing Blame', so I walked away.

It is important not to loose yourself when in conflict with others. If there is no meeting of the minds, it's futile to keep going back and forth on an issue that won't be resolved amicably. I realized that this person's bitter hateful accusations was coming from a deeper source that had nothing to do with me. They had legitimate gripes, however, the way in which they were communicating only showed how much pain they were in and how helpless they felt. I understood that. With that understanding, I refrained from going blow for blow. Although they refused to take responsibility in the matter, I saw how messed up they were and actually pitied them and began to pray for them.

It takes good understanding to be able to rule your spirit and to know when to walk away. It's not easy. Anything worth doing will never be easy, but it is necessary. Why expend good energy for something you're never going to get? Only God can get their attention and address their need. Only God can arrest them emotionally and humble them.

What was in my favor was the fact that I had a resource called 'Prayer'. That's the best thing to have in your arsenal in situations like that, especially situations you have no control over. I took to praying and telling God all about it. It was done! I left it with Him. 

Be angry and sin not, the Scripture says. We can get angry, but there are boundary lines we should never cross. There are things that I no longer get angry about, like in the past, because my anger is deferred by having good understanding. I don't enjoy feeling or being angry. It's a joy killer and a downer. I decide what is worth getting angry over. I pick my battles and the unavoidable stuff, I try to handle as wisely as possible. 

​There are things that God will do for us, but how we respond when we're angry isn't one of them. We are to rule our own spirit!