Life Plan Devotion #155 [Get angry]

I don't know about you, but anger is my least comfortable emotion, yet, it is God-given. The Bible says, "Be angry and sin not" (Ephesians 4:26a). That's the key. Even Jesus got angry, yet He did not sin. Let's see how getting angry can be beneficial.

John 2:13-16
"It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; He also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, He told them, 'Get these things out of here. Stop turning My Father's house into a marketplace!'" (NLT)

Jesus was angry at those who had turned the Temple courts into a marketplace of unjust profit. The merchants forced the people to buy "approved" sacrificial animals in exorbitant prices and exchanged their currency for Temple currency at inflated rates. They abused the public trust and mocked holy worship. It wasn't right, and Jesus was righteously indignant. Anger is an emotion, and one of the emotions God created in us. It can be used for good or for evil. Anger that is measured and authorized by God's purposes is justified. This kind of anger can play an important role in our spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery.

What this has to do with weight loss: You will know, beyond a doubt, that you will experience success in the area of weight loss, when you get angry enough to do something about it. When you stand up to the abusive forces in your life, and that includes addiction to food, you will be able to make the changes that will set you free from its grip. As you do, God will stand by you.

Today, think about anything in your life that God says, "Let's get this OUT!" Allow holy anger to well up inside you, and do the hard thing, to get that destructive, abusive force out of your life. God can use even anger in you, to encourage you to make changes. Surrender to the process.