Fix your eyes on Jesus

I have a memory of anger which is so childish I should have forgotten it -- but I haven't. I can't. I was a little girl, and my mother and I were having a tea party with my doll dishes. She was a great mom! But she said something that made me so frustrated I hit her arm, and the tea spilled all over everything. Some kind of timing -- I ruined the whole party. I still feel bad when I think of it. No matter the age, "A fool gives vent to his anger" (Proverbs 29:11). If you are angry at someone right now, you know the feeling in the pit of your stomach, and you know the words that race through your mind -- words to tell that person and then words to tell others so they'll get on your side . . . . Wait! Wait. Cool down. Be quiet a minute. Think. Look at Jesus. He "endured" (Hebrews 12:2). He had every reason to be legitimately angry: Stupid, terrible people had unjustly done Him in -- and yet He said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). You need some kind of spiritual disciplines to change your mental habit pattern. Perhaps even this little visual aid will do. Get two sets of paper, one for your mornings and one for your evenings. Post them around in all the strategic spots where you can check your attitude. On some of the papers write this: "HIS COMPASSIONS NEVER FAIL. THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING." (LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23) Post them where you'll see them as you start each day: on the bathroom mirror, by the coffee pot. When you see them, commit your heart to feel compassion all that day for that person at whom you've been angry. On other pieces of paper write this: "DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN WHILE YOU ARE STILL ANGRY." (EPHESIANS 4:26) Post them where you'll see them as your day starts to wind down: on your car dashboard as you drive home from work, in your kitchen as you start to fix the evening meal. Then on a special paper check off each morning and each sundown that God has helped you overcome your anger. And continue this for however long it takes to melt that anger out of your heart and make you forgiving and compassionate and tender. You see, the problem isn't really the person who's troubling you; it's within you. All your life, sinners around you will sin -- it's what they do best! But fix your eyes on Jesus. Remember His words: Love is patient, love is kind . . . . It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs . . . . It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). If anger is your problem, you may suddenly realize that Jesus' eye is fixed on you, studying you, and He asks you simply, "Doest thou well to be angry?" (Jonah 4:9 KJV. In other words, "Is this improving you?") Man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires (James 1:20). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then pray this prayer to Him: Lord, I refuse to fix my eyes on my "troubler"; then I get upset and feel abused and cheated and angry. I fix my eyes on You. Then my heart will melt, and I'll become like You -- kind, compassionate, loving, forgiving. Help me, Lord! In Your own dear name, amen. Don't forget to post those pieces of paper! * * * * * Equipment can break down or get lost, water can leak away, records can be destroyed by fire, the minister can be delayed or the church burn down. All these are external and subject to accident or mechanical failure . . . But looking is of the heart, and can be done successfully by anybody -- standing up or kneeling down or lying in [your] last agony, a thousand miles from any church. --A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (pp. 94,95)