OUR DAILY BREAD : ANCGRY PRAYERS

[cimi]

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5


ANGRY PRAYERS

READ:
Proverbs 29:11
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Fools give full vent
to their rage, but
the wise bring calm
in he end.
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The neighbors probably didn't know what to think as they looked out their windows at me one wintry day. I was standing in the driveway with a garden shovel clutched in my hands whacking wildly and angrily at a clump of ice that had formed beneath a corner gutter. With each smack, I was uttering prayers that were variations on one theme: "I can't do this." "I don't have the strength to do this." As a caregiver, with a long list of responsibilities to handle, I now had this ice to deal with, and I had had enough!

My anger was wrapped around a bundle of lies: "I deserve better than this>" "God isn't enough after all." "Nobody cares anyway." But when we choose to cling to our anger, we become mired in the trap of bitterness, never moving forward. and the only cure for anger is truth.

The truth is that God does not give us what we deserve; He gives us mercy instead. "You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you" (PS 86:5). The truth is that His strength is sufficient (2 COR. 12:9). Yet before we can find such reassurance, we may need to step back, lay down the shovel of our own efforts, and take Jesus' hand that's extended to us in mercy and grace.

God is big enough to listen to our anger and loving enough to show us, in His time, the path forward.

__Shelly Beach, Guest writer

** Loving God, forgive me for my outbursts of anger. Today I choose to lay
down my sinful anger and accept Your mercy and grace.
Shelly Beach is the author of several books, including Precious Lord,
Take My Hand. Meditations for Caregivers.
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Grace: Getting what we don't deserve, Mercy: Not getting what we do deserve.

******************************Today's bible Reading __ Psalm 86:1-13*****************************
1 Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and
needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your
servant who trusts in you. You are my God; 3 have mercy
on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to
your servant, Lord, for i put my trust in you.

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to
all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry
for mercy. 7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you
answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds
can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will
come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to
your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you
alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your
faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your
name. 12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I
will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward
me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of
the dead.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The psalms are often read as windows to the
soul__songs that reflect the reality of our emotions and struggles.
They encourage us to understand that God can handle our honesty
as we express ourselves to Him. Yes, God is big enough to absorb
our anger and listen to our complaints, but we must not overlook
the context in which the writers of the psalms expressed heir
feelings. In today's passage, over and over David recognized his
place in relationship to God. He acknowledges that he is "poor
and needy" (v.1), he is faithful to God and trusts in Him (v.2), and
he is God's "servant" (v.4). it is important that we understand
who we are in relationship to God when we bring our hearts and
struggles to Him. J.R. Hudberg