Daily Devotional
Do Not Hold On to Anger

September 5, 2020

Ponder This

Not all anger is bad or sinful. Many things in our world should move you to anger. The Lord Jesus Himself was moved with righteous anger when it was called for. But only when He saw others being misused and abused, never when someone harmed Him. Jesus never retaliated. Righteous anger is aimed not at the person, but at the injustice, not at the sinner but at the sin.

If you’re angry, God warns people to stay away from you! “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul” (Proverbs 22:24-25).

You may think you can't be angry at the sin without being angry at the sinner. Sure you can. We get angry with ourselves over something we’ve done, yet we still love ourselves.

God has much to say about anger and how we must govern it. Ephesians 4:30 continues, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The Holy Spirit is present in your situation, and He will give you the power you need.

Some of you have been angry for a long time. Your spouse hurt you and you've been nursing a grudge. Quit it. It's not worth it. Ungodly anger is an acid that destroys its own container. It harms anything it’s poured on.

Practice This

What can we do? Verse 32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Dear friend, you must get into Ephesians chapter four and the book of Proverbs and learn how to deal with this thing of stubborn anger.