“Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath”   ~Ephesians 4:26

Anger is a natural reactive emotion. Being angry, in it of itself, is not a sin. This fact is made clear in the above verse. However, anger can easily lead to sin if we aren't careful. How we react to anger is what decides whether we sin or not. God gives a way out, a way to handle the situations that anger us without surrendering to Satan’s temptation to succumb to evil. God tells us we can become empowered through our faith in His power!

The following is a very powerful quote :

“A righteous life has no room for lingering anger, whether in the form of rage or resentment. Fury that hardens in our hearts become a stronghold for Satan.”   —Dr. Charles Stanley

Anger gives Satan an opening, a place to enter and reside in our hearts. It’s a way for him to get our attention off of God and onto him—to get us counting our problems and injustices rather than thanking God for our blessings.

When it comes to anger, the human reflex is to do one of two things, act out or suppress it. Neither of which will solve the problem or get rid of the anger. In fact, acting on anger only creates more problems . . . and isn’t that exactly what the devil wants?

And then there is the problem of denial. By suppressing our negative feelings we are only deferring our anger for a later date. The big problem with this system is if we don’t admit we’re angry, it doesn’t just vanish. Anger is an extremely strong emotion, if left unaddressed it will eventually grow into an even stronger emotion, rage! Once we allow our negative emotions to take hold, we give up our ability to exhibit self-control and are no longer in control of our actions. Satan is now pulling the strings of our anger-filled feelings! This unwillingness to admit we are mad is the useless tactic of lying to ourselves. Sooner or later it will lead to an emotional, rage-filled explosion, only making things worse.

So, what can we do with these negative thoughts and emotions? We can start by stopping them dead in their tracks. Train yourself to deliberately stop your thought process when you start to experience any feelings of anger. We have control over our emotions, it’s a biblical fact. Self-control is one of the “Fruits of the Spirit.” We must stop ourselves from talking as soon as we feel angry. The very moment you feel upset, call out to God. Ask Him to help you think of something good, just one positive thing in your life, and then focus 100% of your thoughts on that! I know this might sound silly, but apparently praising God is the remedy to anger for the following reason.

God tells us to be in a constant state of praise and gratitude because this prevents us from focusing on the negative, all the things that Satan uses to get our attention. Without deliberate action, the devil will get us going in the wrong direction every time something seems to go wrong. However, staying in a state of appreciation keeps us focused on our blessings rather than our problems.

How can we give up anger . . . ?

Anger in itself isn't a sin and won’t always lead to sin. However, if we are led to judgment, slander or violence as a result of being angry, it then becomes sinful. That’s why God said, be angry but don’t sin! Don’t be carried away with these emotions, simply put, just don’t act on them!

If our emotions are allowed to lead us, they will always lead us astray.  Satan loves to use anger to get us to look at him, to get our attention off of God and His goodness, and onto him and his evil revenge.

If someone hurts us, our first impulse is to get angry and want to hurt them back. But when we act on knee-jerk reactions, we are acting out of pride rather than reason. When we react on our own accord we are not including God into the equation, and there’s the root of all our problems. Anger is such a strong emotion that it usually blocks all power of reason. It seems impossible to be humble when we’re filled with rage. How can we feel the need to turn to God for help if we’re caught up in a reactive state of prideful attack?

If we are truly born again, there’s no room for ongoing anger, whether in the form of rage or resentment. Anger that hardens our hearts will eventually become a stronghold for Satan.

​Why should we forgive others . . .?

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”   ~Ephesians 4:31-32

The fleshly method for “curing” anger is to either let it out or suppress it but neither is very effective for solving problems or relieving the anger. However, God’s way of dealing with this dangerous emotion dissolves it and sets the believer free. Forgiveness and prayer are God’s system, as the above verse says! We need to own our feelings, and then ask for some divine intervention— because on our own we will fail!

Unfortunately, anger and unforgiveness go hand in hand, and both will eventually consume us. God tells us to set these emotions aside and take up love and kindness instead. Forsaking anger means giving it up to Him and walking away from Satan’s temptation to seek revenge! On our own, this is as natural as walking on water but just like Peter discovered, it is possible with God’s empowerment.

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”   ~Matthew 19:26

​When I have been betrayed or insulted, lied to or violated in any way, I instantly get angry and want to strike back and seek revenge! But I know that doesn’t help in any way because it’s nothing more than giving in to the devil! I now try instead to pray for the person who hurt me. However, I recently learned that whatever I am praying for this person can very often be the very same thing that I need for myself as well. I force myself to ask God to heal me of the same character flaw in myself that I prayed for the other person.

Here’s the thing, when someone really gets under our skin the reason is more than likely a parallel of some sort. We are mirroring our own repressed thoughts and deep-seated feelings in some obscure way. Sometimes when someone else’s behavior bothers us, it’s because we are in some small way guilty of the very same thing.

“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”   ~Romans 2:1

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