Scripture for Today: Genesis 4:7 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

This sweet little girl is losing it!  What toddler has not gone through the temper tantrum stage?  The angry emotions become too much to handle and spill out.  It can be frustrating or cute depending on how much sleep the parent has had.  But there is a place where temper tantrums are encouraged; the Tantrum Club for women in London.  There, one can scream, shout, rant and rave, jump up and down and bash things.  The club welcomes this behavior with support because as they say, “You deserve it!”

Our verse for today is spoken to Cain as a warning from the Lord.  Cain’s emotions have reached the boiling point.  Much more serious than a child’s tantrum, his anger is about to erupt in violence.  God does not tell Cain to swallow or suppress his emotions.  He tells Cain that he must rule over them in order to avoid sinful behavior.  As strong as his anger was, Cain always had a choice.

I often rationalize that I deserve to feel the way I do.  It is understandable.  But I do not have to be the victim of my emotions.  They do not have to lead me to sin, not if I can rule over them.  There is always a choice whether or not to give in to the anger or frustration.  My problem is that I cannot rule over my emotions on my own.  There is often a tantrum going on inside.  How thankful I am to have the fruit of God’s Spirit, offering me self-control.

Lord, rule over my emotions today!

Look familiar?  This is a summer re-post due to ministry schedule.