Free From Anger

I had never had a green thumb. But when I received a little cactus as a gift, I wasn’t worried about being able to take care of it. After all, they’re known for being easy to take care of!

However, after only a few days of owning my succulent, its fresh, green color began fading to brown. I panicked. Instead of not being worried about what I thought was a hardy little cactus, I began watering it daily, sometimes even a few times a day! The appearance of my poor little plant didn’t improve with more and more water, but that didn’t stop me from watering it—plants need water, right?

Unfortunately, my cactus didn’t survive, and I learned that sometimes, something that we think we need, or even something we think we deserve, can be harmful to us instead of good. I overwhelmed my poor little cactus with too much water, and at times, I have allowed my heart, mind, and soul to be overwhelmed by anger.

I often find it easy to justify my anger. Sometimes it even feels good to be angry. When I’ve been hurt, mistreated, or let down, I tell myself that I deserve to be angry! The anger doesn’t improve my situation, but that rarely stops me from wallowing in it, letting it saturate my heart and mind.

The psalmist warns us of this in Psalm 37:8:

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm (NLT, emphasis mine). 

There is a similar warning in James 1:19-20:

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires (emphasis mine).

The Bible is full of these messages (Ephesians 4:26-27, Proverbs 14:17, 2 Timothy 2:23-26, just to name a few). The Word of God is clear that our Father does not desire for us to be bound by anger. It leads to harm and does not produce righteousness, even when we feel justified in our anger.

But we are all human and are sure to feel angry at some point. So instead of stewing in our anger and allowing it to engulf us, what should we do instead? Luckily, God’s Word has some things to say about this as well:

Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7) 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

When we feel that familiar feeling of anger welling up within us, instead of indulging it, telling ourselves we deserve to feel angry, and letting it overtake us, we should humbly seek the presence of the Lord and pray that the power of His Holy Spirit would help us to forgive as He has forgiven us and to love as He has always, unconditionally loved us.

Father God, forgive us for the times we have let anger rule our lives, for the times we have walked in anger instead of in love as Jesus commanded us. When we are angry, we pray that Your Holy Spirit would invade our hearts and replace our anger with Your love, joy, peace, and kindness. Instead of anger, let us seek and desire the fullness of joy found in Your presence.

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.