"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. — Ephesians 4:26-27
Anger is like dynamite. Mishandled, it can get you into a lot of trouble.
Do righteous men and women get angry? You bet they do! There is plenty in this world to get angry about.
But how and why are they able to get angry without sinning? It is because they operate from a position of strength. When we know who we are, we understand our connection to Christ. We don’t need anger to protect us, because Jesus is already doing that job. We don’t need to solve all the problems in the world, because Jesus is smart enough and strong enough to deal with all the problems in the world. We only need to deal with what He has put before us, and, at the end of the day, we can hand it back to Him and sleep in perfect peace.
A few days ago I shared a devotional about forgiving. I used the analogy of Bill Gates adopting me and giving me access to his bank accounts. I explained how easy it would be to forgive a debt of $100,000 if I had access to the fortune of Bill Gates. In the same way, giving our anger to Jesus is easy once He enables us to truly understand how He will take care of us, even if we don’t have the anger any more.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.