Audio Option
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Scripture
A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
Proverbs 19:19
Reflection
Once you have positioned yourself to be the person with an uncontrollable temper, you find yourself in situations that lead to negative consequences. We must learn to control our reactions to our emotions, how we act, and what we say in anger, frustration, fear, and pain. We are spiritual beings who carry within us the power of God. We daily tap into that Source that we call energy, and that energy is powerful. We have a responsibility to responsibly use that energy. If you explode on someone, you release and give energy to that person. You can’t reclaim it, recycle it, or repurpose it. It’s gone. Wasted.
And I can speak from my own experiences when I’ve ‘gone off’ on someone after I just feel so drained, and then I’m wondering, “What in the world… how is it possible that I allowed myself to get to that point?” I gave up my power.
Self-control requires strength, awareness, and love; it doesn’t even have to be love for the other person; let it be rooted in your love for God, your self-love, and a desire to protect and preserve your inner peace. Self-control requires a desire and commitment to be aligned and in agreement with God through our speech and actions. It declares, “I am greater than my emotions.”
In turn, when hurt or disappointed, we have to choose whether to explode emotionally and release that energy verbally or physically or choose instead to take control of ourselves and look for more productive and positive ways to express what we are feeling and thinking. You have to choose if it’s worth giving up that energy to that person or situation. If you give it to them, then they control you.
Are you a puppet, easily manipulated and controlled? Someone pulls your strings, and you react. Is that you?
Now let’s be clear, yes, there are times when your spouse, significant other, children, pets, neighbors, family, friends, co-workers, employees, or the random person on the street will work your absolute last ‘nerve,’ but our reaction to them shows more about our inner self, and our heart, than anything else. What you do and say will create a domino effect that could impact a great number of people, possibly hundreds, in one single day.
At the same time, we also can’t be responsible for a hot-headed person who is quick to anger. If we always make excuses for their behavior, run behind them fixing their messes, and let them get away with being mean and disrespectful—never holding them accountable, we enable them, and they will see their behavior as acceptable, continuing to repeat it—and you will grow more and more miserable. You will then create an endless and vicious cycle of ugliness.
That’s toxic! Is that how you want to invest your time and energy? Neither of which you can reclaim once spent.
We must work towards ridding ourselves of darkness and staying away from people who are not mature enough to keep their emotions in check. No one should live in fear or under stress caused by others. I get it; some folks we can’t disassociate from, either because we live with them or work beside them, but we can limit how much time we spend around them and how much energy we give them. Peace comes from within. Protect it at all costs.
Before ‘going off,’ let’s work at walking away and calming down and then reassessing the situation after we have calmed down. You are responsible for yourself, your behavior, and the words you speak. Stop giving your power away!
Prayer
Father, I thank You for this day, for this moment to come to You with my concerns. You already know my circumstances. You know what’s happening in this world. I ask that You calm me when my emotions begin to bubble and surface. Comfort me in times of pain and anger so that I may control my emotions and actions, and get in agreement with You.
Touch my heart Lord, so that I find the peace within to choose patience to endure, overlook, or walk away from unbearable situations and people. I believe that better is possible, that better is before me, and that You will always make a way out of the impossible.
Show me how to control my tongue. Show me how to simmer my temper, so as not to be an eyesore in Your Kingdom. Teach me how to walk upright, with composure and dignity. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
And with that family, I pray that you are blessed, that you see and embrace your blessings, and that you are a blessing to others.
Love,
Natasha
Copyright 2012-2023. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com
Music: Climb by Shane Ivers; Quiescent In Time by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com
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