Anger is one of the most powerful emotions we experience. There are over 275 verses in the Bible dealing with this subject. We must be so careful how we handle anger. BUT – did you know anger itself is not a sin? God himself gets angry from time to time. It’s how you handle your anger that makes all the difference in the world.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Psalm 4:4
There are pretty much two ways to handle anger…
1 – It can drive you to prayer, and you can handle it quietly and prayerfully.
2 – You can talk about it to others, allow it to grow into bitterness, and create room for the devil to get in your head about it.
Both of these verses above tell us NOT to let anger take a place in the driver’s seat of a situation. Don’t react hastily, but also don’t hold onto your anger for so long that you simply live with it. Let it go! Pray over that situation that caused the anger. After prayer, and time to calm down, go to the other person and make things right. Don’t sleep with your bitterness. This can be so hard to do, especially if someone has hurt you or your loved ones deeply. In Psalm 4:4 the phrase “stand in awe” in the original Hebrew language of the book of Psalms means “to tremble or quake with anger”. Have you ever been this mad? Even in this kind of anger we are instructed by God to stand still, evaluate our heart, and wait on the Lord’s direction.
Sometimes, even in our anger, we must be patient. Sometimes saying nothing (until the time is right, and the Lord directs) is the best way to handle a matter.
What has made you angry this week? Have you prayed over it? Has God given you peace about how to resolve it yet? This world would be a much nicer place if we all learned to stop, and pray before reacting in haste!
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
