Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Anger”
Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies are never ending. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “The past is past, let it go.”
Some of the angriest people I have ever known are those who live in the past. They cling to past hurts and injustices and refuse to let them go. They think about them, brood over them, revisit the scenes in their mind over and over again, and essentially relive those bad times repeatedly.
And to what end? The past is past. It cannot be changed. Brooding about it doesn’t make the past better it only makes the present worse. It brings yesterday’s pain and sorrow into today.
Doing that makes you sad and grumpy and it results in other people not enjoying your presence very much. For the most part, we either attract people with our demeanor or we push them away. A bright and happy person is fun to be around and therefore tends to attract people. A sad and grumpy person is not fun to be around and therefore is usually avoided by others. When a person insists on living in the past, brooding about past hurts and disappointments, it darkens their personality, causes them to be sad and grumpy, fuels anger, and poisons relationships.
There’s no need for a Christian to live in the past. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostle Paul teaches that if you are in Christ you are a new creation. The slate has been wiped clean by God and you have a new life.
In Lamentations 3:22-24 Jeremiah reminds us that even in the midst of the deepest and darkest times God’s love for us is faithful; His mercies to us never end; everyday brings new blessings and new opportunities; and therefore we can and should put our trust in God for a good day today and for a bright future tomorrow.
Last night in my reading I came across a reference to Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who spent more than a year and a half locked away in a small room with her family as they hid from the Nazis. During that time she kept a diary that has since become famous under the title “The Diary of Anne Frank”.
What’s remarkable about the things she recorded during that time is the upbeat tone and the constant words of hope. As hard as it was to live in such a small space for such a long time, Anne refused to give into despondency and regret. She refused to complain about her circumstances and she made it a point – as a matter of choice – to be happy and upbeat. At one point she wrote, “I don’t deny the reality of our situation. But I do deny the finality of it. This too shall pass.”
And that’s a good place for us to end this morning, “This too shall pass”. Whatever happened in your past is over and can’t be changed. Whatever you’re dealing with today is temporary, and it too will pass. Being angry about any of it just makes things worse. So give it to God and let it go.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 