MarkTwain, the famous writer said, “Anger is an acid that may do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
Lately I have been thinking a lot about anger and once again, I find it ploughing its way into my everyday life. If you spend even a little time watching the news, I bet you feel angry too. Are you losing hope or maybe feeling a bit helpless. If you do, believe me, I get it.
Looking at the world situation gets me really upset about what is going on. The social and political unrest, COVID-19, the job losses, the increase in domestic violence, people dying of starvation and children not having clean water to drink.
We SHOULD be upset and angry at these things. Even Jesus got angry. He knew his disciples didn’t have it altogether and were at times real goof-offs. What did he think of the legalistic Pharisees? And the poor and sick that came to him for healing?
How Did Jesus Deal With His Anger?
Jesus lived amidst the poverty that surrounded him and the myriad of social injustices. Yet he did not hesitate to voice his anger and displeasure at the deplorable conditions. He did not participate in group protests nor did he seek public office in hopes of changing things. He most certainly displayed anger but it was a controlled anger that lined up with the Father’s word. Then he took it to his father in Heaven and received divine counsel.
We can learn a lot from his methods of dealing with unpleasant and horrible situations and we can apply it to our own lives, especially if we are willing to confront our own anger issues.
Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was human and completely in touch with our humanity, “We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.” The Message translation.
What Jesus Did For My Anger
I was amazed!
I experienced anger issues for most of my life. It was just in the last few years that my explosive, rage-like anger was addressed. A lot of gratitude goes to some significant others in my life, a wonderful Christian counselor and an Anger Management course that contained both secular and Christian elements in it. Today I am able to express my anger in an appropriate and more constructive manner.
But above all, I praise God and Jesus for my recovery. So I want to share with you some of the Bible verses about anger that are extremely important to me and help keep me grounded.
God’s word has truly blessed me.
So if you are fearful that your anger has or will damage your relationships with loved ones or others, I hope theses verses will bless you.
The verses I share with you are taken from the late Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible-The Message. This translation speaks directly to me in a concise and contemporary no-holds-barred manner.
You may prefer other translations. If so, go to biblegateway.com where you can enter into the search bar any scripture you want and find a translation that you like from the dropdown menu.
Some of my favs:
Ephesians 4:29 “Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.”
Proverbs 15:18 “Hot tempers start fights;
a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.”
Ephesians 4:26-27 “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”
ECCL 7:9 “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”
We will all experience seasons of anger.
What can we do about it?
Well, first you have to acknowledge it and get out of any denial you have about it. YOU KNOW if you have an explosive temper that often escalates into uncontrolled anger. Whether it’s directed toward your wife, your boss, your children, a friend, a coworker…..YOU KNOW. If you have any doubt, ask those recipients of your outbursts. They will be more than happy to tell you. (Well….since you mentioned it….). Be prepared.
Once out of denial, you must identify it and own it, take hold of it and claim it…..”yes, I am an angry person….I have abused those I love and many others.” Whether it’s verbal, physical or emotional abuse, own it. I know it’s painful and embarrassing but must be done for any sort of recovery process to begin. Ask God for the strength to help you move forward with the healing you need.
Then be willing to seek counseling, maybe from your pastor or your workplace might refer you to someplace to get the desired help, Look for an anger management course. Many churches have them. Mine does. Take hold of your fears and press on. God is with you every step of the way. Trust him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Search the scriptures for references on dealing with anger. Read them. Live them.
Be aware that your new journey may involve conflict. Counseling often brings up past issues that are sometimes painful to deal with. Remember this is not unusual so try to deal with them. Great gains from great pains.
My own time in counseling revealed some painful memories of my childhood but they also revealed where some of my anger came from. Past wounds can only be healed if you know they are there.
Also allow the recipients of your anger the time to enter into a recovery process too. Realize they may need to learn how to trust you again, to believe in you. They may be fearful of renewing the relationship. You can be the change they need to see but give them time. It may result in a period of physical separation. This can be of immense help in allowing all parties the proper time to heal.
If there was physical abuse in any of your relationships, there may be consequences you will need to address. Face them, not alone, but with the strong belief that God is with you and for you. He loves you in all your brokenness.
You are his child and he desires to have a relationship with you. Reach out to him.
May our great God reach out to you and extend his unlimited mercy and grace
