You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue.
Psalm 52:4
I had been a mom for about six years when I first began to
experience significant anger. And as the pressures of parenthood increased and
our older children moved into adolescence, I started getting angry more
severely and more often. It was inappropriate, and it was really becoming a
problem.
One Thanksgiving weekend, my 13-year-old son and I got
into a raging argument about . . . something. I don’t even remember what. I
just remember I couldn’t control him, and I couldn’t control me. For
years, I had justified my anger by saying I was so tired and worn out every
day. Now, for the first time, I realized it had gotten bigger than I was. I
could justify my behavior no longer.
Dennis was a part of the solution. As we talked it over,
we agreed that it would be healthy for me to go through a period of counseling.
As I sought help, the Lord sensitized my heart one summer day to the words of
Psalm 52. As I was reading the fourth verse—the one above—my eyes filled with
tears.
Suddenly I knew that in all my years of struggling, the
only thing I really hated about my anger was that I couldn’t control it. Yet in
those few moments of holy conviction, I realized I needed to hate my anger
simply because it was sin. Before, I had only hated what I did with it. Now, I
hated it for what it was.
Perhaps you’re still rationalizing a certain harmful
behavior of yours by claiming your right to it. Perhaps, if you dug a little
deeper, you might even discover, like I did, that you enjoy the power and
control it gives you.
If this is you, don’t you think it’s time to confess
(agree with God about it) and deal with it?
Discuss
In what ways might you love your sins, even the ones that
grieve you the most?
Pray
Ask God to give you the courage to confront those things
about yourself that need to be dealt with.
**This devotion was taken from
"Moments With You"
Daily Connection for Couples
by Barbara & Dennis Rainey
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