MAD…

NOT CRAZY

BUT MAD…AS IN…

ANGRY…TICKED OFF…FIT-TO-BE-TIED…END OF THE ROPE, VEINS BULGING TYPE-OF-MAD

Been there, done that, bought the T shirt, wore it out, now use it as a rag.  And that’s just for starters!  🙂  AND I’m not even talking about how I have felt toward people.  No…this “mad” was how I have felt toward God a time or two or three or …..

I read a story recently about a guy who was going camping in the mountains.  He ran out of gas about a mile from the cabin he was going to stay in, so he piled all his gear on his back and started to hike the rest of the way in.  About that time it started to rain, and just as he was almost there, a bolt of lightning struck the cabin and burned it down. The disappointed camper leaned his head against a tree and cried out to God, “Why me, Lord?”  The clouds parted, thunder clapped, and a loud voice replied from heaven, “Because some people just tick me off.” 

I won’t lie.  I will show my heathen side.  I laughed out loud.  I know God would never do that, but I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have felt like that.  “Surely, God has it in for me.  He must not like me very well, or at all.  If He does love me He sure has a funny way of showing it. ”

AND.   YES.   I.   HAVE.   BEEN.   MAD.   TICKED.   OFF.   AT.   GOD.

Too bad that during those times I didn’t remember that God was for me.  He was not my enemy.  He was not looking to “take me down” until I cried, “Uncle!”  He wasn’t rubbing His hands together in glee as He watched me squirm.   What really turned the tide for me was when I realized that God isn’t holding a grudge against something I did 3, 13, or 30 years ago.  It is done.  Over.  Kaput.  The consequences I will have to pay for, but His forgiveness is eternal.

“IF GOD IS FOR ME, WHO CAN BE AGAINST ME?”

Paul said that in Romans 8:31.  But he didn’t stop there, because there is so much more!  Read the whole passage here.  God is on my team.  Don’t underestimate the power of a team.  While one cyclist may be crowned Tour de France champion, make no mistake it took a team to get him there.

DON’T QUIT.  DON’T GIVE UP.  DON’T STAY ANGRY.  GOD DOESN’T QUIT.  GOD DOESN’T GIVE UP ON YOU.  GOD DOESN’T GET ANGRY AT YOU. 

How about you?  Are you feeling like this is “one of those times?”  How do you handle the feelings of anger that you might do feel from time to time?  What would you say to someone struggling with anger right now?