Waves serve to pull you in or to push you away. They keep you off balance and every time you adjust the next wave comes crashing in. Anger has a way of pulling you out to sea leaving you alone and in despair, or it can wash you on the shoreline leaving you grimy and bathed in sand, scorched by the sun. Understanding the ebb and flow of your emotions and the delicate role they play will help you stay in perfect balance and control. Never fight the current or go against the wave. Anger only arises when you take the predisposition to fight back and prove your point. You have the ability to control your anger in any circumstance. When you feel you are being dragged in by the current, rise above it by seeking to be kind and patient. Have empathy because you don’t know what the other individual is going through. Remember power struggles never work, instead choose to go under the wave and humble yourself. This allows the other person to open-up and share what is happening on their side of the beach. Being in control doesn’t mean you have to win or assert your dominance, rather in love you harness the energy of the wave in order to use it as a benefit to build and not tear down.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”(1st Thessalonians 1:5 NIV)
Dive Deeper:
- Have you ever been so angry that you felt lost and isolated in a sea of hopelessness?
- Why do you feel you need to be in control and why does it bring feelings of anger when you’re not in control?
- Explain why it is important to have empathy and build others up rather than choosing to tear them down?
- What steps can you take to reduce being upset?