My Daily Devotional

Dealing With Anger

“In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Ephesians 4:26

Anger is a powerful emotion which can strike suddenly, and take over our thoughts, and many times can seem to be uncontrollable. Anger and its devastating effects can leave everything and everyone that it is directed at in ruins. There are as many causes and expressions of anger as there are people, but one of the underlying causes of anger is due to the fact that things are not happening as we expected them to happen. We may not get the raise we expected, our children may not listen to us, or our spouse does not agree with our point of view about an important matter. Usually anger is directed towards the person that does not agree with us or we feel has harmed us in some way. Everyone will get angry at some point in their life, but controlling our anger is the thing that sets us apart from others. If anger is controlling you, there is only one way to find relief and that is to give God control of your life. God teaches us to love rather than be angry, and his answer to control our anger is to learn to forgive. Forgiveness is perhaps the greatest remedy for anger. Just remember that as Jesus hung on the cross dying for our sins, He asked His Father to “forgive them for they know not what they do”. Jesus had every right to be angry toward those who placed Him there, but rather chose to forgive them instead. To anyone that is fighting anger in their lives, don’t let it fester and build up, as it will not go away by itself; it will grow like a cancer and affect the things that are most precious to you. Turn your anger over to God, and ask Him to help you forgive the people that have caused you to be angry, as this is the only way that you will be able to rid yourself of this sin. God will take control and give you peace.