Read: Psalm 4; Ephesians 4:25-27
Life is full of emotions. Anger, sadness, joy, and love are a few emotions we experience in a life time. Many times our lives are so filled with extreme negative emotion that it consequently may lead to depression, stress, and anxiety which often results in an unhealthy lifestyle and frequent doctor visits.
In the fourth Psalm, we read of David who struggled with some distress in his life. He cried out to God to relieve him, and he cried out to his people to do right and trust in the Lord. David challenged his people to not sin in their anger but instead search their hearts at the end of the day and be silent.
Paul echoes this wisdom in Ephesians. He reminds the church of Ephesus to not sin when they are angry and not to remain in their anger. Paul encourages them to resolve their anger before the end of the day. Unresolved anger gives place to the devil.
God's desire is not for us to be filled with anger and sadness. His desire is that we be filled with his spirit and with joy. Let’s use our imaginations for a moment. Let’s imagine that we are a cup. If we continue to fill our cup with anger, bitterness, sadness, thoughts of revenge, lusts, and worry, then our cup will soon be overflowing with negativity. How can God fill our cup with joy when it is already full with everything else? Instead we must repent and ask the Lord to empty our cups so that he can fill us with the joy of his spirit.
We cannot offer our gift of worship to God if these things are in our life. We must resolve them in order to worship. Matthew 5:23-24 tells us that we must leave our gift at the altar and be reconciled with our brother before we can offer our gift. A true worshiper is one who empties his/her self to God.
Questions:
How is your lifestyle of worship? Is your cup full of joy? Are there any friends or family members you need to be reconciled with?
