The Danger Of Anger

January 27, 2021

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

~Ephesians 4:26‭-‬27~

You know the saying, "never go to bed angry?" This scripture sums it up for this very saying. You get into a fight with your husband or wife and you allow your anger to follow you all the way to sun down, you're on your way to bed and the anger seeps into you more. You end up falling asleep never saying goodnight to the other spouse. The problem with this is if it was time for one to go home to be with the Lord, that will be the last memory placed into your mind. Life is far too short and God's plans are unpredictable. We can have our emotions, as we are human, but when we allow them to control us we are giving a place to the devil to send forth his minions to enter us. If we allow our anger to settle for too long, we are in danger of giving into sin; "for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

(James 1:20)

Nothing good ever comes out of being angry. We must try to calm ourselves before we go too far with it. I can remember many times in my past when I got overly angry and I for sure gave satan a place in me, I became oppressed by a spirit of anger and I began to hurt myself eventually, not just other people. This is what the enemy loves to do, cause people to give into temptation, be uncontrollable with their emotions and hurt themselves and others. As we follow the Lord, we are told to have forgiveness for others. We have received a great gift of forgiveness so we are to also forgive others.

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

If we are holding onto unforgiveness in our hearts, again, we are giving satan a place. This is also why the Lord tells us not to seek vengeance; "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord." (Romans 12:19)

The Lord will repay all wrong things ever done to us, but in His time. We must learn to forgive, just as Christ forgave His accusers and blasphemers and died on the cross for them. We can't give any place in our heart for bitterness or wrath as it will cause utter destruction and satan will just sit and laugh while it happens. Here's another example of what it may look like to the Father in heaven: two of your children are playing together, one child starts to become angry at the other and hits them, eventually it turns into a fist fight and you begin to pull them apart all the while you look over and there's an adult sitting in the backround watching and laughing thinking that it is pretty funny. You begin to not only scold the children but your anger is then projected on to the laughing adult who only added fuel to the fire. Sound familiar? The parent represents God sitting back while He watches us, His children. When one of us hurts another satan is sitting in the backround laughing and egging us on. God is not only disappointed in us for letting wrath have its place. He is scolding the devil over and over again as he continuously tempts His children. The good news; God will always have the last laugh. "He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." (Revelation 20:2‭-‬3)

Our enemy knows he has a specific amount of time to tempt people on earth until he himself will be bound in chains. He uses his time each day to search each of us out in our weaknesses to cause us to become unfruitful. "And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful."

(Titus 3:14)

Let us walk in the fullness of God's love so that when something does make us upset or angry, we will not hold onto it long as we will be holding onto Jesus more then ourselves. When we start to put aside our own care and desires and ask Jesus what it is He needs of us, no devil can cause us to stumble for long. His Spirit lives in us. We must continue to grow ourselves in Christ and be forgiving just as He is to us. We must not give way for satan to drag us deep into sin or frustration just so that he can sit back and laugh at us.

The next time we start to fight with our spouse, we must remind ourselves of God's forgiveness with us. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to take this emotion from us so as not to cause further destruction. Do not let satan use a moment of weakness as victory for himself. There is nothing to big for Jesus to handle for us. We must first go to Him and ask for help, as we have the power to do so; "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." (Ephesians 3:20)

There is nothing He is not willing to help you with. For He is good always. Be careful of the danger that can happen when anger has its way in, it is more then just an emotion when it becomes uncontrollable. It is a spirit sent from our enemy trying to make itself at home. It's our job to kick it out and say "You're not welcome to stay here!"

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for the ability to abide in You as often as I need to strengthen my core of emotions to line them up to Your desires. I pray for the patience to fill my spirit as I walk in forgiveness of everyone who wronged me. I know that in time, You will avenge. You are a just God and that will never change. Thank you for the forgiveness You gave me through Your Son's precious blood. I know the devil was defeated in that moment and I vow to further reveal his lies as I walk hand in hand with You. Please remind me to push my emotions aside quickly so they do not cause a door to open up for satan to enter through. I give all the praise to You, Lord as Your everlasting love fills this world with hope and peace. As I wait on You, I know there is nothing You will not do for me. When I am struggling You are there, when I am joyful You rejoice with me. May all glory be given to You for this great gift as You lead me into my next task for the kingdom. In Your Name I pray, Jesus Christ my Prince of Peace. Amen.