Keith Battle - Keep Running - Part 7

Last week in part six of this series, this is part seven. As you say, I did mention that last week was part six; this week is part seven. You see, that was pretty good. In part six, we talked about this weight called anger. Anger is so weighty because of how much it drains your energy. It takes every part of you to be angry. You have to have adrenaline rushing, your body tenses up, and your mind engages. It is a very consuming thing. So we talked about protecting your energy. Everybody say, «Protect your energy!» We discussed that in relation to anger, and we said there are a couple of questions you should ask. One is, whenever you’re angry, you should ask, «What am I angry about and why am I angry?» There are probably more seeds on this side: «What am I angry about and why am I angry?» Don’t just be angry; be a student of your anger. Really investigate and ask, «What is it about this that makes me angry and why? What is it in my history that makes me prone to react this way to that?» Then we talked about the question: «Is this situation worthy of my anger? Is anger the appropriate reaction to this situation?» You can’t just throw anger at everything because anger is too precious to spend anywhere. Some people and some situations aren’t worth your anger. Don’t just act like, «I’m angry all the time.» If you’re angry all the time, then that’s not a good use of your anger. You have to ensure that it’s the right response to a situation because of all that it costs. Then, if it is the right response or the right emotion, how do I then express my anger in a way that doesn’t put me at fault? I don’t want to be angry at sin and then have my anger become sin. I don’t want to become upset with somebody, and then the way I reacted becomes the center of attention. Finally, we talked about how you have to put boundaries around your anger, like journaling and praying, spending time to help protect us from this very potent emotion. Today, I want to continue talking about protecting your energy. One more time: protect your energy! I also want to continue discussing anger. I’m going to say something about grief too, but I want to continue with this next question. Here’s the question: Remember when it comes to anger, kids, you want to do anger reduction. Like, I want to bring it down. Everybody say, «Bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down!» Here’s a question to help bring it down: Is there a bright side to this situation? Whenever you’re angry, it could be something, it could be something you’re angry at right now. If you’re angry about something, or if it’s something you just got angry about yesterday, or something you’ve been angry about for a long time, here’s what I want to ask you. I want you to comb through that situation and ask the question: «As I pierce through the darkness of this situation, is there any good thing about this? Is there a bright side? Is there any light in this?» My late Uncle Louis Dodds had a coal mining business, and one of the things coal miners do professionally that we need to learn when it comes to anger is that coal miners know how to find good stuff in dark places. So the key is, how do I pierce through the laden darkness of my anger and discover what is light in this? What about it is bright? You have to be ambidextrous when you look at your anger; you have to use both hands. So, on the one hand, yes, what they did was dirty; yes, that was disrespectful; yes, they broke their promise; yes, they betrayed me; yes, they took something from me; yes, they hurt me deeply; and I have the right to be angry. But on the other hand, it could have been worse. On the other hand, I could be left with nothing. On the other hand, I survived it! You know you’ve got to give yourself credit and God glory for the stuff you survive that people do to you. «I survived that! Come on, y’all! I survived that! I’m a survivor! I’m closer to God because of this. I’ve grown through this. I learned something about this person that I needed to learn about them that I couldn’t see until they did me like that.» Thank you, Lord! My eyes are open now. So you must be ambidextrous when it comes to anger. You can’t just look at the negative; you have to look at the positive. That doesn’t mean what happened wasn’t wrong; it just means, can I see anything? Can I see any light in this situation? Romans 8:28 says, «All things work together for the good for those who love God.» Here’s what I can learn: if you ever look at a battery, every battery has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. If you’re going to use a car battery, a AA battery, AAA, or any kind of battery, they all have a negative and positive terminal. In fact, even if you’re going to jump a car with a dead battery using a live battery, you have to connect the cables to the right terminals. Right?