Let’s face it, Jesus had a holy anger when he saw the money-changers in the temple, but he didn’t sin- because it was a righteous anger. Unfortunately for us, most of the time, our anger isn’t for righteousness sake-but our own. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe all anger is sin, but if our anger is not properly dealt with, and guarded closely, it can possibly lead us to sin against God.
“Be angry, but don’t sin — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.”” Ephesians 4:26-27
Wait a minute, did you say Adversary-with a capital A? Yeah-the devil. Other translations say: “don’t give the devil a FOOTHOLD.”
The scripture didn’t say-don’t be angry– it said- don’t sin in your anger or go to bed until you have dealt with the cause of your anger.
Right now, there should be some really big alarms going off inside of you. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON-DANGER!!! Any time I hear that the devil gets access-I have learned the hard way to take notice-quickly. Nothing like experience to teach you a valuable lesson.
I learned the value of this sacred text not long ago. I got angry, (over something stupid) and went to bed without dealing with it. The next morning, I awoke with a seriously bad neck and backache. At one point during the day, I asked the Lord what was going on, because I knew in my spirit that something was off. He reminded me that I had not dealt with an anger issue from the night before, and had given the devil legal access to injure me. No joke- my jaw dropped, as I knew immediately, that I needed to repent for the anger and unforgiveness, I had allowed in heart the night before. I quickly prayed and got my heart right before the Lord and soon after, the backache left.
I learned to value the counsel of scripture that day. I have since given a lot of thought about anger and how I could have handled it differently. What I learned to control was not the situation, but my response to the situation. I learned SELF CONTROL. I learned that slowing down allows patience to enter my heart-not anger. Patience allows you time to capture wrong thoughts and emotions, so they don’t spiral out of control.
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20
Go somewhere, take a break and slow down. Slow down to the speed of grace and deal with yourself. Deal with all your anger-silent and verbal, deal with your emotions and with your fears. Remember that silent anger is sin too, not just the anger that is outspoken. God sees and hears it all, even when we don’t say a word. He knows our hearts.
Today, if this is you, and you have a problem with silent or verbal anger will you pray with me?
Father God- help me see all the ways I allow anger to control me. Help me see when I allow the devil access-so I can quickly repent and receive healing. I ask you now for a clean and willing heart as I move forward with this understanding. I ask you to renew me, in the spirit of my mind, and give me eyes to see. Help me let go of offenses and grudges that I have towards others and help me slow down to the speed of grace, so I truly see my own issues, not just the issues of everyone else. Thank you Lord for all your help. In Jesus name, amen.