Getting Angry

Psalm 97:10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:  The beginning part of this psalm verse gives a Godly perspective on getting angry.  We who are believers should get angry when we see evil occurring.  We have a right to be angry about evil doings.  Proverbs tells us the same thing, Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:.


We are given some precautions when it comes to being angry.  Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Our anger should be in control.  When we get angry, we should not be flying off the handle and acting impulsively.  We are to maintain right thinking even though we are angry.  Often in life people let anger get the best of them and then bad things happen.  We see an example of this in the racing world recently where an angry driver wanted to after another driver and ended up getting run over and killed because his anger overrode his common sense.


Another thing that often happens in our anger is that we take matters into our own hands.  This ties in with the impulsiveness and loss of common sense that can occur when angry.  We often want to mete out punishment on the one we are angry at.  But we need to remember that we serve God, and we are not him.  Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.  Let God take care of the matter.  We don't have to do anything to anyone other than letting it be known we are angry and why.  (part of not letting the sun go down).  If something needs to be done, let God do it.  He can take care of it much better than we can.


Ephesians 4:31 tells us to, Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  Get the anger out of your system right away.  Don't let the sun go down on it.  Give it to God to take care of and move one.  All of the things listed in this verse can derive from holding on to anger.  We take matters into our own hands and we start saying things we shouldn't, and/or talking about it to others which stirs up division.  Over time this leads to bitterness and a hard heart.  We end up being miserable.  This miserable mindset also leads to physical ailments as well.  It hurts us far more than it ever hurt the person we were mad at.


The following Ephesians 4 verse reminds us to get back to a Godly attitude.  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.  But, you don't know what this person has done!  You don't understand how long this has been going on!  God does.  He knows everything.  He sees the situations.  As believers we have to trust that Romans 8:28 ...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.


No one said it would be easy.  It is never easy to see evil flourish, especially if you are on the receiving end of it.  Imagine how Joseph could have felt all those years, being thrown in a pit, then sold as a slave by his own family, falsely accused and imprisoned, forgotten about, alone...  Then one day, years later, it all came to fruition.  Joseph never would have been ready for that if he had let anger grow into bitterness.  Instead, he constantly trusted the Lord and did things in a godly manner and was blessed through, not out of, the difficult situations he encountered. 


When we get angry, take it to God in prayer.  Tell God how you feel.  Express yourself to Him fully.  David in the Psalms often prayed in anger at the wicked and asked for God to send wrath upon evildoers.   One light example is in Psalm 40:14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.  David does get harsher in his requests too.  Letting it out to God gives us relief from the stress and peace in our minds.  Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.


In prayer too, if we are listening and not just jabbering (lol), we might receive instruction in how to deal with a situation.  I was recently praying about a situation that made me angry and while I stopped and listened, a verse popped into my head, Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  It was not a resolution to what I was dealing with, but it was a reminder of the importance of my own conduct in the matter and refocused me on what I should be doing, rather than getting sidetracked by what made me angry.


In conclusion, It's OK to get angry for the right reasons.  just don't hold on to the anger.  Let it out in a Godly fashion. Hand it over to God and let him deal with it.  Move forward, continuing to do what God wants us to do.  This way we won't cause ourselves further grief and we can trust that God will resolve the manner in the best possible way (but that may be different that what we think should be done).


Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;