Anger: God's Will vs. God's Expectations

Anger: God’s Will vs. God’s Expectations

Recall the last incident that made you angry: (Write it down)

 

Why do we get angry?

 

God’s Command:

James 1:19-20 (KJV) ¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: ²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 (KJV) ⁹ Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Psalm 37:8-9 (KJV) ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (KJV) ³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: ³² And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Why People get Angry:

1.           Injustices in Life:

o   Anger over Sin.  God’s anger is over sin or injustice. 

o   More mention of God’s wrath in the Bible than man’s anger.

2.           Do Not Get Your Way:

1 Kings 21:1-4 (KJV) ¹ And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. ³ And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. ⁴ And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

3.           Jealousy:

·        Saul became angry with David when Saul became jealous of David.

·        Jealousy is the intense interest for another’s honor or prosperity.

·        Jealousy is the apprehension of superiority.

1 Samuel 18:7-9 (KJV) ⁷ And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ⁸ And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

4.           Things Seem Out of Your Control / Need to Control

·        Your Children

·        Your Reputation

·        Your Security

 

Need to Control…we use anger to control others!

6.           Response to Hurt or Mistreatment:

·        Vengeance anger grows little by little over the years of mistreatment.

·        The slightest mistreatment or hurt can unleash anger reactions.

Ill:           David and Nabal I Sam 25

Nabal was a wealthy land owner.  His flocks and lands were protected by David and his mighty men. He sought food for his men and Nabel said no.  David in anger wanted to take his men, and slay Nabal.

7.           Wounded Pride:

·        Spiritual progress can lead to pride.

·        Pride, wounded, can lead to anger.

Ill:           King Asa

Incident 1:  Faced Ethiopians that outnumbered him two to one.  Asa humbly sought the Lord and the Lord gave Asa victory and brought a great revival to Israel. 

2 Chronicles 15:9 (KJV) ⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

Incident 2:  Baasha came against Asa.  Asa this time paid the Syrian King Ben-hadad to make a new union with Asa. It worked, but the prophet of God Hanani rebuked Asa for not relying on the Lord.  Asa’s response: 

2 Chronicles 16:10 (KJV) ¹⁰ Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

Asa’s pride led to anger.

8.           Spill Over from Unresolved Guilt:

·        A person with guilt often wields a critical tongue.

·        A person with a sin problem is often harsh at home with spouse and children.

Ill:  David and His Guilt

What was David’s response when Nathan told him the story of the man who took advantage of the poor man?

9.           Physical Conditions (Acute, Chronic Pain, Weariness, Sickness)

10.         To Set Things Right

·        This can be a righteous anger.  When things are wrong, anger can be a motivation to correct things. 

·        Think of Jesus at the Temple with the moneychangers.

Notice all 10 reasons are related to other people or circumstances.

Rectifying God’s Will vs. Godly Expectations

1.           God’s Will:

·        God’s will is basically anything that reflects God’s purpose for our lives, independent upon people or circumstances beyond our ability to control.

·        God’s will for our lives is for us to become more and more like Jesus Christ. This is called sanctification. 

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (KJV) ³ For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

·        We are the only ones who can keep us from doing God’s will in our lives.

·        God’s will does not depend on other people or favorable circumstances.

2.           Godly Expectations:

·        A Godly expectation does depend on favorable circumstances or the cooperation of other people.

·        The problems come when we equate a Godly expectation with God’s will for our lives.

Ill:           Dinner @ 6 with Wife.

Stop for gas, backed up…old man taking his sweet time putting gas in the car, checking the oil, windshield.  He is ruining your Godly expectation of dinner @ 6 with wife!

The old man does not determine who you are, your response to him does.  It reveals the will of God…sanctification…Christlikeness.

Ill:           Godly Expectation of a Loving, Happy, Godly Home!

Who can mess with that Godly expectation?  Everyone in your home!  You cannot control what your spouse will do or what your children will do, but you can control you.  You can control how you act.

What to Do?

1.           Focus on Doing God’s Will!

·        The person or circumstance that tempts you to be angry is an opportunity to do the will of God. 

·        Remember the will of God is to respond like Jesus.  It is to respond in the Spirit of God, the fruit of the Spirit.

2.           You can do the will of God.

·        God’s will is doable.

·        Christ enables us to do God’s will.

Matthew 19:26 (KJV) ²⁶ But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Philippians 4:13 (KJV) ¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

3.           You can’t control People or Circumstances

·        Trust God!

·        Have faith in God!

4.           Manage your Godly Expectations

·        God is not going to make every circumstance and person to your liking.

·        Don’t measure your life by your circumstances, but by your Christlikeness.

·        God’s greatest ministry is in your heart.

5.           Trials are Opportunities to do God’s Will.

Romans 5:3-5 (KJV) ³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; ⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope: ⁵ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

·        Each trial is an opportunity to experience the love of God.

Let Go of the Nuts!

Proverbs 13:19 (KJV) ¹⁹ The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

:but it is abomination (disgusting, detest, abhor, loathe) to fools (one who lives life rejecting God and His Word) to depart (decline, to turn off, remove) from evil (bad, morally wrong, wicked, corrupt).

The fool hates to stop doing what he is doing. He despises turning from his sin to God. The wicked man detests giving up the evil to which he clings so tenaciously.

You can't have your sin and freedom too!

The trappers in Africa trap monkeys using this principle. They place nuts in a jar with a narrow neck and ties the jar securely in place. A monkey comes, sees the nuts, and plunges his hand into the jar. However with the nuts in the monkey's hand his fist doubles in size and will not pass through the neck of the jar. The monkey has a problem. If he releases the loved nuts, he can withdraw his hand. If he hangs onto the nuts he is trapped. The monkey chooses to hang onto the nuts. When the trapper shows up, the monkey will chatter with rage, fear, and frustration, but he will not let go of the nuts, not even to save his life. Likewise a fool hangs onto his sins. He is mastered by his lusts, held fast by his evil desires.

Jesus Christ can free us from the power of sin. We must repent of our sin. Repent is simply to change your heart and mind concerning your sins.

1 John 1:9 (KJV) ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

Sugar Addiction?

Why Do We Crave Sugar?

by Kelly Quinn

The obvious answer to this question being; because it tastes so good.
While that’s true, there are also scientific and psychological explanations for why so many of us can’t get enough sugar.
Sugar is a ‘simple carbohydrate’ and carbohydrates as a whole, trigger the release of serotonin, a brain chemical which makes us feel good or contented.
Sugar does this through increased absorption of an amino acid called tryptophan which helps the body make serotonin.
Sugar also encourages the release of endorphins; these help us to relax and can promote a natural high.
In addition, if blood sugar levels drop, perhaps as a result of prolonged periods of not eating, our bodies send signals to our brain that we need energy fast and sugar is craved.
This can work in the same way when we are feeling down, our brain realises we need a hit of serotonin and before we know it we’re reaching for the chocolate.
For some women sugar cravings are linked to the menstrual cycle, while some people experience cravings as a result of imbalances in their adrenal gland when insufficient levels of adrenaline can lead the body to search for an energy hit elsewhere.
Psychologically speaking, we appear to be programmed to like sugary tastes; it’s the first taste we prefer as infants. As children we are often rewarded or comforted by being given sweet treats by our parents, which means we develop positive associations with and reliance on sugar.
We don’t seem to be able to escape this trap later in life either; we have been conditioned to need a sugary treat to boost our mood or to reward ourselves. These inevitably make us feel good and this in turn increases our desire to reward ourselves with sweet treats in the future and so it goes on and on.

The problem with using sugar in this way is that although it does give us a boost for a while we quickly ‘crash’ and fall back to our previous state, which starts up the cycle again.
While there is no problem with the occasional reward or treat, some people’s relationship with sugar takes on a role more often associated with illegal drugs, with stages of binging, withdrawing and craving.
In addition, we are liable to experience intense feelings of frustration and disappointment at ourselves when we give into our cravings and emotional distress may itself lead to future cravings for sweet food.
We also need to think about the detriment to our health that the overeating of sugar can cause. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of nine teaspoons of added sugar per day for men and six for women. Many people exceed these guidelines on a regular basis and, other than gaining weight, prolonged overeating can lead to diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Tips for curbing the cravings

But enough of the bad news, what can we do to break the cycle, and curb the cravings? Here are some tips on how to do just that:

• Starting with breakfast, avoid carbohydrates as these will just set you up for cravings later in the day, instead opt for a breakfast full of phytonutrients, lean protein and healthy fats.

• Remember too, breakfast is vital in ensuring blood sugars don’t drop to the level where the body cries out for an energy boost, in the form of sugar. Making sure you eat at regular intervals through the day will also help to prevent blood sugar levels falling later on.

• Continuing from there, aim to include lean protein and healthy fats into each meal to control blood sugar levels as the day progresses.

• Make sure you stay hydrated during the day too, as dehydration can trigger cravings.

• Just as important is to ensure you are getting enough sleep, fatigue can lead to our bodies searching for a boost from elsewhere.

• This might seem obvious but try not to keep sweet food in the house, if you make it easy to snack you’re more likely to do it, however hard you try not to. Linked to this too is organisation: plan what food you’re going to need in advance, taking healthy snacks with you when you know you’ll be out and about.

• When you are buying food it’s really important to read the labels carefully, you might be surprised at what foods contain added sugar!

• Remember too that sugar comes in many guises – high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose and molasses are all forms of sweeteners.

• Thinking of sweeteners, using low-calorie sweeteners will not help you crack your cravings, so avoid where you can. If you can’t live without them opt for Stevia.

• And if you can’t resist your cravings, eat a piece of fruit rather than artificial snacks. Or try chewing gum, some people find a stick of gum can reduce the desire for sugar immediately.

• Some people feel that giving in to cravings in small doses can reduce the possibility of binging later and so should be encouraged, while others feel that going cold turkey is the better alternative. The first 2-3 days are extremely tough but after the first few days, cravings begin to fade away.

• Supplements can prove useful in combating sugar cravings as nutrition deficiency is often cited as a trigger, Vitamin D3, Omega 3 and fatty acids are particularly important. Blood sugar control appears to be improved by Magnesium and Vitamin B3.

• Moving away from food, exercise can be amazingly effective at halting cravings. Exercise releases endorphins making us feel good, it also gives us an energy boost and releases stress, therefore eliminating the need for a sugar hit.

• Distraction and ‘time-out’ can also prove effective when cravings hit. Taking your mind off the craving by engaging in an activity, such as going for a walk, or taking a few minutes to de-stress and focus on breathing can render the need for sugar redundant.

• Sugar is often used to comfort ourselves when we feel low, try to explore when and why you find yourself seeking comfort in sweet food and address the issues in a different way.

• Sugar also functions as a reward when things go well so try to find other ways to reward yourself. Reward yourself too for resisting your cravings.