Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, his desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (4:1-7)
Cain was angry and God told him that “sin was crouching at the door” (4:7) but that Cain needed to “rule over it” or master it. He didn’t master it, which led him to murder his brother. Jesus equates anger to murder (Matthew 5:21-22). When we have destructive feelings (which we all do), whether anger, jealousy, etc., we need to deal with them, master them.
I have a three-step suggestion to help us master these feelings: First, realize what the feeling is and confess it. “Lord, I realize I am jealous of (or angry with, or__________). Please forgive me and cleanse me.”
Second, do what I call “Truth-talk.” Speak truth to yourself. For example, I believe that God has called me to minister to/encourage homeschooling moms, and I have caught myself being jealous of other homeschool veterans who have a bigger “reach” than I do, so I might remind myself of truth in this way: “I know Mary and I are both doing the same ministry encouraging homeschoolers, and Mary has a much bigger reach than I do. However, I need to simply be obedient to God and trust Him that my reach will be as extensive as He wants it to be.”
Third, we need to ask God to empower us to take our thoughts and feelings captive, In other words, we can ask God for help not to let those of our thoughts and emotions that don’t line up with His Word rule us, but to help us replace these thoughts with God’s truth.
Prayer: God, I confess to you that I feel _____________ ________. Would you, by the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to get rid of those feelings. Let me see (this person, situation) as you do. Help me to trust You, that You have my best interest and will take care of me and my loved ones. Bless us as we seek to walk with You.
