The Bible has much to say about anger.  The Bible tells us that God Himself gets angry.  It is a God given emotion.  The error we make is in believing we have no control over our anger.  (Or any of our emotions for that matter.)  Classes on anger management are available and very popular.  Learning to control our emotions is obviously possible.

In Ephesians 4:26 the Bible tells us, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”  When we are angry, we must be in control of our anger and we must resolve our anger quickly.  It is not wrong to be angry, it is wrong to not control our anger.

When we are hurt anger is a normal response.  Anger is that strong desire to return evil for evil.  Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Oh when he said that, I should have said this.’  Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become avenues for angry people to retaliate.

Consider these things when dealing with your own anger.

Have I faced my anger?

How have I avoided dealing with my anger?

Is my sleep affected by my anger?

Do I find myself thinking about getting even or telling someone off?

Has my anger affected my health?

Do you talk often about the person who injured you and the harm they have caused you?

As long as we are angry with another person, we are the ones who suffer.  Many, many times the person we are so angry with, does not even know that we are angry, or if they do know, they do not care.  They sleep at night while we toss and turn.

Anger builds upon itself.  The more often we get angry the more often we get angry.  The deeper our resentment, bitterness and anger is toward one person, the more resentment, bitterness and anger we find we have toward another.  I know people who are so angry with the government and the president, they constantly talk about their corruption and evil intend.  It doesn’t take long to discover that they are angry with many others beside.  Their anger is out of control.

Proverbs 22:24 advices us, “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:” and in verse 25 we are given the reason, “Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”  Uncontrolled and unresolved Anger becomes a snare to the soul.  This is why we read in Ecclesiastes 7:9 ”Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”

All of this being understood, the question still remains, how do we let go of our anger?

Start by confessing your own sin.  When we are very, very angry we often wish others harm.  We dwell on how we might take revenge or get even.  This is not God’s plan for us.  Romans 12:19 instructs us. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

There is miraculous freedom in trusting ourselves and our circumstances to our loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, Lord and Savior.  Nothing ever escapes His notice.  He is never taken by surprise.  Few of us have faced all that Job faced and yet Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 13:15  Sometimes the ‘whys’ are not clear to us.  Those are the times when the ‘Who’ is what matters.  Focus on Him.  Consider all we know about Him and then throw yourself and all of your circumstances into His loving arms.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. I Peter 5:7

 

More on Anger next post.