How To Deal With Anger

NOTE: I wrote this before election night and after the hurricanes. But it is still relevant. God is still dealing with things in our hearts so we can be free and draw closer to Him. 

How to Deal with Anger

I am angry and I’m not alone. In fact, the frustration is so bad that just trying to type “Anger” took me several times because I couldn’t type it out without mistakes. So I beat on… each… letter. But I’m not alone. As I watched this whole debacle play out with FEMA denying hurricane victims resources, supplies, and Starlink receivers, my anxiety hit the roof. Panic set in. And I began to pray in my anger. Several times I could feel the Holy Spirit holding my words back, and only a few words got out. I had taken Benadryl and it dried me out so much that I couldn’t even cry like I wanted to. So, as I laid in bed last night exhausted from my outburst, God spoke to me.

He told me for the second time that I needed to do something about my anger. “ I love you. I love the hurricane victims. I am there. I am taking care of them.” In fact, this morning He spoke to me again about it. “Work on your anger. Don’t pray when you’re angry. It holds you back from what I have for you. I can’t bless you when you’re angry.”

How many of you are so angry with this situation or maybe there’s a storm in your life that has you seeing red. It’s a natural reaction. But when we team anger up with helplessness, frustration, anxiety, it becomes a storm around us and unless we seek the Lord, it will blind us. We will say things we will regret later on. And with politics, that happens way too much.

So how do we deal with anger? How do we pray when we’re angry? Especially when the situation seems hopeless? Or when we know we can’t help the situation get better, how do we deal with all these strong emotions biblically?

“When all hope seems lost, that’s when I will act.” That small voice we call the Holy Spirit spoke that today. I have been seeing examples of this all day. I shared a link to a video earlier in which an older man shared his testimony of how the Lord worked miracles through him. God’s words resonated all through this video. It was amazing. And if we read Zechariah, when it seems there is no hope for Israel, Jesus steps down onto the Mount of Olives and saves His people.  (Zechariah 14:1-4).

This is telling us we need to have the faith to be patient and wait on the Lord. We also need to recognize and remember this lesson. When desperation hits us and we feel hopeless, we need to cry out to the Lord.  It doesn’t end there. We also need to give God our anger. Let go of it. It’s useless to us, especially when ministering to others who feel the same way. And learning patience isn't something that can be done in one day. Sometimes it takes people a lifetime to achieve this. That's why we need the Lord to help us to live out His word.

James 1:19-20 ESV

[19]  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV

[26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil. 

Romans 12:17-21 ESV

[17] Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. [18] If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. [19] Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” [20] To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

These verses speak volumes. Especially this last one. God said to me I needed to give Him my anger. Vengeance belongs to Him because God is not just a loving Father, but a Righteous Judge. He has to be. This world is too evil and victims cry out for justice every day. This is where the Lord reassures me, “All hope is not lost. I am fighting for you.” 

When you look at this heated political season, the attempts on Trump’s life, and now the government holding back aid from those in North Carolina, it all makes sense. We are in the most heated spiritual war I have ever seen. I’m 53 years old and I have never seen anything like this….EVER! And I know God is fighting for Trump by how hard that man is getting hit by the enemy. 

God’s whole message to me and you is this, “Anger will destroy you. Rest assured. I have the situation.” 

Sometimes in these massive storms, when the ship is moving side to side, being tossed around like an empty box. When the waves come barreling down on us and the ship is about to be sunk down by the pummeling waves…. Maybe, instead of getting angry and yelling out meaningless words, or posting comments against our enemies. Maybe the best course of action is to give the anger over and pray that the Holy Spirit teaches us how to handle these feelings. 

Take comfort in knowing that God is on the throne. That He is aware of the bad situation. That maybe He has already called people to intervene. Or maybe, just maybe, He’s opening the eyes of those who have refused to see the truth for years. And those people are the ones that can do something about it. 

We don’t know the mind of God. And we sure can’t say what He’s going to do. But take that anger and give it to Him so He can fill you with peace and hope and give you a different perspective on the situation. 

And if you have spoken or prayed in anger, repent. Give it over to the Lord. Ask Him to teach you how to manage your anger. Look up Bible verses on it and meditate on them - study them. Give yourself grace and move on. God wants to bless you, not hold this over your head. That’s why He gave us Jesus. All you have to do is ask. Call on the name of Jesus and you will be saved. That’s how much the Lord loves us. How much He loves you. Just ask Him to show you. 

Faith like a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), that is all we need. And God does the rest. Trust Him. That’s all He asks of us. To trust Him in whatever situation we are in. 

Has God been trying to talk to you? Have you been called or think you’ve been called to accept Jesus? Pray this prayer and let me know. I’d love to pray for you and your family. 

Lord, I have sinned. Forgive me. I need you Lord and I need Jesus in my life. Please come in and renew me. Take this life of mine and clean it up so I can shine for you. So that others around me can see that change is possible and they can have Jesus in their lives. I surrender my anger and pride over to you. I surrender my life to you. Lord, thank you for sending Jesus and for saving me. Let your will be done in my life and others. In Jesus name, amen.