Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtOne day, in a section of the local newspaper, there was a mugshot and story of a scary-looking guy. He had brutally raped and killed a woman and did things I would rather not describe. She had rented him a room in her home, which eventually led to this tragic moment. I don't know what the reason was for this woman renting out a room. It might have been rooted in her gift of hospitality, a financial need, or some other reason. Regardless, it was sad that she allowed this depraved, devilish man to have even a minute of occupancy in her home. Sadly, it cost her her life.Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV) says, "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."
The word foothold is a Greek word meaning "limited occupancy"—letting someone live in a place for a while. That is what we give the devil when we let the sun go down in our anger. We give the devil occupancy in our mind and heart. Why would we do that? Why would we give occupancy to a devil that only knows how to destroy? The thought of me voluntarily giving the devil any place in my life would be equal to letting that criminal mentioned above stay in my home. I could and would not let that happen.When anger and strife our present in our heart, we give the devil occupancy. It affects everything in our life. Why does God tell us not to let the sun go down in our anger? God knows that anger from unresolved issues takes root and grows. It grows into a deeper-rooted anger called bitterness. Have you ever tried to pull something from the ground with deep roots? It can be back-breaking! And most often the root snaps and you end up with that root still in the ground only to grow again. That's giving occupancy to the devil, but the Lord says don't let the sun go down in your anger. Unroot it quickly!Anger leading to unforgiveness, leading to bitterness is a fast moving and spreading cancer. Bitterness grows by you replaying issues and unforgiveness in your mind and out your mouth which you almost always do—to somebody! Bitterness which is rooted anger, which you have when you don't deal with it quickly, is much harder to pull up and deal with later. So, the answer is, never let it root in you to begin with!
Anger is not a sin when kept in check. It is actually a God-given emotion. We are to use our anger toward the devil—the enemy of our soul and his efforts to move us out of our love walk. Romans 6:12 (NKJV) says, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts."
What do you think of when you think of the word reign? You may think of it as one who rules like a King. That is the literal meaning of this Greek word. A king reigns. He has authority. The king of your mind and emotions is you! The one who has all authority over Satan, sin, anger, and every evil work of the enemy is you! This verse says, “do not let sin reign” implying you have a say, or even more importantly, that you have the God-given authority and power of God through His Holy Spirit within you, to deal with it! If it is a new revelation to you, embrace it! You have power over it!We need to keep anger contained and take an assessment of all that is going on around us. We need to ask ourselves, Do I really need to feel this mad, or am I in a bad mood for some reason? Did I get enough sleep? Am I tired and crabby? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Am I taking myself and this situation way too seriously, or can I just chill? Do I love the person I am angry with, and do I really want to hurt them with sinful anger?The foundational truth of our Christianity is found in Romans 5:8 (NKJV) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."Jesus forgave all our sins and transgressions from the start. He had every right to be angry, yet His love prevailed, and Jesus gave His life for us! It's time for us to transfer that same forgiveness to others. Seldom is it easy. But it's always right! If your response is, But you don't know what he/she has done to me! my response is this: You don't know all the offenses you've committed against the Lord, but I am sure they are more than what that person has done to you! I have found that when I obey the Lord by faith and forgive and move past the offense that made me angry—by faith, my mind and emotions soon respond accordingly and fall in line with God's heart. I feel better because I know I have obeyed God.I have found that I have had to develop plans to diffuse anger and develop strategies for working through it in different situations. There are some things you can kindly address and work through and others you won't! Drivers in traffic that cut you off and make you angry aren't something you can address. You must let go knowing they are like rain on your picnic—something you have no control over, so move on and navigate it. You'll have to deal with your anger. You must deal with issues with your spouse or friend with mercy, forgiveness, faith, and love. Why faith? When you forgive by faith, even when you don't feel like it, your emotions follow your faith, and soon, the negative feelings vanish like morning dew! Love gives place to the guidance from the Holy Spirit that you need for each situation. It immediately unroots anger and the devil's power. And I promise you, over time, your temperament will have changed because of your obedience to follow His plan! You become the new you!So, it's time for you to rule and reign in your life by choosing to ignore the mole hills and show mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness instead of anger, blame, and accusation. Initially, this is no easy task, even with God's help! But will it transform you and your character when you become intentional about this change in your life! It has happened to me and I love the new me! I refuse to give Satan any "limited occupancy" in my life or home. I refuse to hinder my intimate relationship with God over bitterness and unforgiveness. I refuse to let the devil eat my lunch because I’m being lazy and let anger happen. The cost is too high, and people are too precious! And most of all, because God has been so very merciful to me, I must be that to others! Amen!Proverbs 19:11 (NKJV) “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.”In His love,Pastor Tim BurtIf today's Fresh Manna was a blessing to you, please hit the "LIKE" button below! And if you'd like to tell me why, I'd love to hear from you! Click here: FreshMannaFeedback
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