Devotional Day 10: Anger

• Ephesians 4:26-27 : "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil."

• James 1:19-20 : "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

• Proverbs 15:18 : "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention."
• Anger is not a stranger to any of us. We've all felt it at some point, some more than others. There are different ways of controlling your anger and different ways of dealing with it. We just have to remember not to let anger control us. Harbored anger is not the work of God. Its spiritual warfare.

     In Ephesians 4:26-27 it brought up something very important. Be angry... This to me spoke volumes. Never should you lock all your anger inside. Don't suppress it and pretend it doesn't exist. The first thing you have to do to solve a problem is recognize its there, acknowledge it. The next part of the verse simply tells you deal with it! Recognize you're angry and fix it. Don't spend all night and day thinking and dwelling on this anger. If you do that it will control you. Anger will consume all your thoughts and aggression will start to seep out of any part of you it can. Don't let Satan control you with the negative things like he wants to. He wants to use a natural human emotion, that isn't a sin by the way, and force you to feel it excessively. That's where we face our sin, in the excess.

     I know in the beginning of my devotionals I used the verse in James to apply it to listening. I think its very powerfully applicable to anger as well. We must not be quick to overreact and become angry without understanding the situation. A lot of dealing with anger comes from communication and listening. In a rage, don't say things that are hurtful and unnecessary. That's where harbored anger comes from. It gives each person reason to hold on to that anger towards each other. Sometimes you just have to let go and let God. Understand that all problems are solved by time and understanding, not by anger. Another thing this verse brings up is that you don't set a great example for a child of God if in your worst moments you don't mimic God's character. In our darkest times is when we prove ourselves. Its easy to be Godly when you feel love and happiness. Its hard to be Godly when we feel hurt, disappointed, sad, angry, frustrated, or guilty, the list goes on, but its in those times of negativity that we should radiate God through us the most. That's when we need it and when others around us need it.

     A lot of times when we are angry we get into arguments. I'm very guilty of this and I'm not afraid to admit I'm a very hot tempered young woman. Something that I need to work on, and I think that everyone should work on, is understanding that anger breeds more anger. If you're angry and engage in the argument the other person feels the need to defend themselves, so they say things that make you even more angry, and it just goes back and forth and back and forth. Its never ending. Be the one who is slow to anger. Be the one with gentle, reasonable words. Hold people accountable and follow through with what you say and deal with your anger when it comes. Don't hold it in and hurt yourself or others because of it. God never intended for you to suffer. Anger isn't there to torture you, but it will if you keep it locked inside and you don't think about what you say and do.

                                                                   Questions/Application

• How do you handle your anger? If you don't handle it well, how do you think you could handle it better?
• When was a time you wanted to be angry, but showed compassion instead? How did it make you feel?
• Reflect on a time when someone was angry with you. How did that make you feel?
• How do you think listening affects anger?