“Anger is exhausting and that is why we are so tired…. it’s why we do not have energy for joy.”
When I recently heard this statement, a light bulb went off in my head. I said to myself, “That is so true!”
Anger is why people, who are always angry, are always exhausted and rarely joyful. Anger literally kills your joy. For some reason, I keep getting on my soapbox about work these days. Perhaps it is because the company I work for has made many changes over the last couple of years, and those changes hit my department hard. Moral is very low and many of my colleagues are angry and complaining. I admit, I do get sucked into it more times than I would like. One thing I noticed is that I have been more exhausted over the last couple of years than I have been my entire life. Here I was chalking it up to getting older and hitting my mid thirties. Go figure!
Any way, upon hearing this statement, I immediately understood the cause for my exhaustion. Now, I hope I did not ruin your perception of me, as I am very far from perfect, I still live in this thing we call flesh, and at times my carnality gets the best of me. However, now that I have this new revelation (okay, so I am slow,) I can treat the cause (anger) and not the symptom (sleepiness/exhaustion/fatigue, etc.) I noticed that subconsciously, I began trying to escape the world of exhaustion. I observed that now when I see someone who is complaining or someone who is always angry, I do not stop to talk. I still say “good morning” and when I do talk to them, I try (key word) to talk as little as possible about what will make me angry. It is not entirely possible to always get by without hearing the angry complaints (and I can’t really blame them for being in such a state.) Now, when I am in that situation, I think to myself, “Is this going to benefit me?” or “Is it something I can change?” if I answer no then I try to shake off the anger as soon as I can by quickly asking God to rid me of the feeling that is beginning to swell up inside me.
I also pray I the morning, “Lord, let me be an example to someone today, help me not to complain and be angry.” Let me just say, I have noticed a difference and no, I have not mastered the art of not being angry. It still happens, but less frequently. I have found I am slowly turning back in to the person who use to laugh at everything and I am feeling much more joyful than I have over the last two years. I am thankful that God allowed me to be in the right place at the right time to hear those words of wisdom. They have changed my life a lot.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath
Going to bed Angry makes you wake up exhausted. Ask anyone. Always talk to God before sleeping if you are angry and if you are married, you should try your level best to talk to your spouse and douse the anger before sleeping, otherwise a gap will begin forming along with the squashing of your joy.
Ephesians 4:31-32
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Lord, help us to be like You!
June 24th, 2010 at 1:11 AM
Very good Amy and very informative. I really needed to hear this. It helped me also to realize why I’ve had very exhaustive times in my body. My anger though is never outward and loud. Sometimes I am verbal but most of the time, I withdrawal from others and keep it buried.
Here lately I’ve been doing as you said…keeping more focused on when the “thoughts” come and begin … as Scripture says… casting down the imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The best book I’ve read and the best study I’ve taken was by Joyce Meyer “The Battle Field of the Mind” – winning the battle over the mind. That’s where it all starts….in the mind.
When those angry thoughts come…we’ve got to capture them, throw them down and crush them! LOL