Scripture: “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Mark 10:22)
Mel Robbins (Chapter 2): “You get to choose how you respond. That’s where your power is.”
“You have problems with anger.”
Words I never thought I’d hear from my therapist. Surely she was wrong.
“Me? Problems with anger? No way!”
Sure, I’d gotten angry about one thing . . . but that was justified. There were situations around that which prompted the anger.
“While I understand the circumstances surrounding this situation, I’d encourage you to think about why you are quick to get angry.”
Thus, a journey of introspection into my anger.
There’s a split second in every hard moment—right after something happens and right before we react—that carries more power than we realize.
It’s that tiny space between someone else’s choice and our response.
And according to Mel Robbins (and honestly, the way Jesus lived), that is where our true power lives.
But most of us? We don’t wait for that space.
We bulldoze right through it.
Per my therapist (and she’s right!) – if there is a situation that causes me to feel disrespected or dismissed, then I am (unlike God ) quick to anger.
When I asked her why she thought that was, she laughed out loud.
“Maybe because you have a lifetime of being treated that way?”
Truth.
So my new lesson is this . . . I do not get to control how others treat me.
I do, however, get to control my response. And – that split second in-between an action and a reaction is a new sacred space for me. A space in which I can learn to not react at all.
When the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus had every reason to react.
He could have called after him.
Could’ve softened the ask.
Could’ve guilted him or questioned his priorities.
But he didn’t.
Jesus didn’t spiral. He didn’t personalize it. He didn’t let the man’s no steal his peace.
That’s true power.
Which isn’t loud or reactive.
It’s grounded. Grounded in peace.
Mel Robbins reframes power as emotional maturity.
Not controlling outcomes. Not controlling people.
But controlling our energy, our tone, our presence—our response.
Real power is being able to say:
“I don’t like this. I didn’t want this. But I’m not going to let it hijack who I am.”
So if something in you wants to hit back, explain yourself, prove your point, or win the argument—pause.
Your power is not in their behavior.
It’s in your next move.
Thoughts to Ponder:
When was the last time you reacted from a place of pain or fear? What would it look like to pause, name what’s really going on underneath, and choose a response that protects your peace?
Grace and Peace,
Andrea