- Anger comes when I feel my right have been violated.
Ephesians 4:26-32 (NKJV) // “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
- Anger leads to sin but is not a sin
- Being angry is inevitable.
- Living angry is a choice.
Ephesians 4:27 (NIV) // and do not give the devil a foothold.
- Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos, “place”).
- “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible” – Dwight L Moody
2 Kings 5:1; 9-15 (NIV) // Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
- Exchange my anger for gratitude
- Use my words
Proverbs 15:1 (NIV) // A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Practice same day forgiveness
Ephesians 4:27 // “…do not let the sun go down on your wrath
- The day of our hurt can also be the day of our healing
James 1:19-21 (NIV) // 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. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
- The answer to anger isn’t becoming BETTER, it’s becoming NEW
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) // Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
