“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Generally speaking, anger is an emotion that many of us find uncomfortable to experience, so we attempt to deny its negative and persistent presence. Yet there are others who feel comfortable with anger, and they use it to protect themselves and control others. However, whether we feel comfortable or uncomfortable with anger, the Bible tells us that this emotion must be worked through and released in order to recover our spiritual and emotional freedom and peace. God’s Word tells us to be angry but not to sin. Be angry? Don’t sin? How do we accomplish this mandate?
We must be willing to talk to God about our anger and allow ourselves to feel it as we pray-just as King David did. Countless times in the Psalms, David vented his anger by telling God to do horrible things to his enemies. Then, by the end of the psalm, David was blessing and praising God. What happened? How did he go from anger to praise?
David processed and released his emotion by feeling his anger while talking to God about why he was angry. This same processing method works today and will keep us from letting our anger escalate day after day. When we choose to hold on to anger, it becomes sin. The sin of holding on to anger gives Satan an opening to deceive us while holding us captive in our wounds. Because of God’s love, Jesus died for our sins, and He longs for us to put the anger on Him. He is the one who has the power and desire to take our anger and replace it with His grace, love and peace.