OVERCOME ANGER BY GOD’S WORD

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” – Ephesians 4:26-27

Believers in Christ are enabled to OVERCOME ANGER by GOD’S WORD: “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Eph.4: 26-27). Not letting the sun go down on your wrath means if you’re angry with someone or something, deal with it right away. Verse 30 says, ^“Let all bitterness, WRATH, ANGER, CLAMOR, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Anger is a natural emotion. The problem is when it tries to take control of us. Anger in and of itself isn’t evil, but it is a powerful emotion that can either motivate us to do great things or cause much harm, get us into a lot of trouble, and lead to destructive behaviour.

Only a fool who allows fury to linger in his heart: “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools” (Ecc.7:9). We must not be fools! Anger has brought down great ones! When the children of Israel clamoured for water in the wilderness, God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would pour forth. But Moses, angry at the people’s stubbornness, struck the rock (against God’s instruction), not once but twice! Although water came out, God wasn’t pleased. He promptly “fired” Moses: “...You shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (Num.20:8-12). All because he yielded to anger, the man the Bible describes as the meekest man on the face of the earth, ended his ministry prematurely (Num.12:3).

People will offend us one way or another, but we must never let anger lead to regrettable decisions or actions. We can learn to control anger and use it in a healthy way; stay calm and let God’s Word take charge and bring out the best in us: “CEASE from ANGER, and forsake WRATH; do not fret – it only causes harm” (Psa.37:8). Here are few helpful Words of Wisdom:

“He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly” (Pro.14:29).

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Pro.15:1).

“A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention” (Pro.15:18).

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Pro.16:32).

“The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression” (Pro.19:11).

There are three keys to Overcoming Anger God’s Way: Restrain, Re-evaluate, and Release. To restrain anger doesn’t mean to bury it, but to keep it within limits or control its expression: “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back” (Pro.29:11). James 1:19-20 implies re-evaluating anger: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” When we re-evaluate people’s words or action, we often find that there’s no need to get angry as they really did not intend to hurt us or were merely acting out of their biases. Finally, we righteously release anger from our heart, mind, and body: “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth” (Col.3:8).

We need to let many things roll off of our shoulders and not internalize or act on them. God deals with anger by being slow to anger: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psa.103:8). When we’re slow to anger, we’re like our Father: His Wisdom is in us to do the right thing even when provoked; to display self-control as a fruit of our recreated human spirit – a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great value in His sight (1Pet.3: 3-4). His Love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit living in us (Rom.5:5).