We must make certain that we don't give the devil a foothold by hanging on to our anger. Read Ephesians 4:26-32 and pay special attention to what God is saying about this subject of anger. Pray about what God may be saying to you about this. Then take a few minutes and read these good thoughts below from Dr. Charles Stanley.
A righteous life has no room for lingering anger, whether in the form of rage or resentment. Fury that hardens in our hearts becomes a stronghold for Satan.
The fleshly method for "curing" wrath is to either let it out (rage) or suppress it (resentment). Neither is effective for solving problems or making an angry person feel better. God's way of dealing with this dangerous emotion dissolves it and sets the believer free. As today's passage reminds us, we are to "let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from [us], along with all malice" (v. 31). But to do so requires that we recognize it's there.
Whether we are annoyed at ourselves, another person, or God, we have to own that feeling. Pretending that the emotion doesn't exist or that we've somehow risen above anger is useless. If you're angry, admit it and then identify the source. Knowing who or what ignited the initial fury can prevent people from misdirecting irritation onto the innocent.
Here are some questions to help in identifying a source of anger:
• Why am I angry?
• At whom am I angry?
• What caused me to feel/act this way?
• Where or when did this feeling start?
• Have I been angry a long time?
Once we know the source of our anger, it's time to forgive, no matter what. Fury and unforgiveness often go together, and they're heavy baggage that will drag you down. God calls us to set them aside and take up love and kindness instead. Forsaking anger means walking in His will with a light step.
After we learn how to deal with lingering anger in our lives, we need to discover God's principle for preventing long-term resentment. The key is to deal with this dangerous emotion promptly.
It's important to realize that believers can have moments of anger and still remain right with God. Yet anger that is allowed to linger and fester is an opportunity for Satan. He quickly plants justifications in our mind: That person deserves to be yelled at. You shouldn't be treated that way! God understands that you're frustrated. By handing people excuses to build a defense for harboring fury, Satan creates a stronghold in their lives. It is a foolish man or woman who hides behind that wall (Eccl. 7:9).
We are not to lay even one brick for the Devil's stronghold. Instead, believers must respond to provocation by forgiving others as God forgives. His mercy is unconditional; there's no wrong that He does not pardon. Believers cannot stand before God and justify harboring long-term anger. So we must release it at once through forgiveness.
We can further protect ourselves by identifying frequent irritants. When those situations (or people) loom, we should pray that God makes us quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). That is the spiritual fruit of self-control in action.
Anger produces only rotten fruit—sour relationships, a poor witness, etc. The wise believer takes a two-fold approach to dealing with it. First, heed the Bible's 300-plus warnings about this dangerous emotion and be vigilant against it. And second, forsake your anger in favor of forgiveness.
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