Anger Free DadSample

The Power To Be at Peace

Most men don’t like asking for directions. We feel as if we have a sense of where we are going—even when we’re far from where we need to be. There’s an old joke that the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness because Moses wouldn’t ask for directions. For a long time, we treated maps as suggestions. If we were convinced of a better route, we might write off the map as outdated.

Then along came the GPS and all that changed, right? Not necessarily. We often argue with the GPS.

• The GPS is telling us to take a longer route.
• I know a short cut GPS doesn’t know about.
• The GPS thinks it knows best, but I’ve known how to get around long before this app showed up.

Most men can tell at least one story of ending up somewhere they hadn’t planned on going. It happens too often when we rely on ourselves and our own, often misguided, sense of direction.

When it comes to handling our anger, too many of us men think we know the direction to take. We’re sure we know what to do to curb our anger and become anger free. Let me offer a one-word response to that: nope. You can’t rely on your own methods to remedy the stronghold of angry tendencies. If you knew how to free yourself of anger, you would’ve already done it. You wouldn’t be reading about how to be an anger-free dad!

Dad, you can’t overcome anger and find peace on your own. And the good news is that you don’t have to! God does not leave you alone to struggle in the battle with anger on your own. You must seek God and let Him lead to a place where peace, not anger, is resident. Under His lordship, you have the power to be at peace. We can’t navigate the twists and turns of life and respond adequately without the Word of God.

Just as the GPS provides what we need when navigating the roads, God provides everything we need when navigating the tension between living for Christ and giving in to anger. You’ve learned to trust the GPS to give you the right direction, so do the same thing with God: trust Him to give you the right direction. Surrender to Him. Lean on Him. Trust Him—and He will lead you away from anger.

Confess to God those times when you rely on yourself. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you the direction you need.