Do you often find yourself being emotionally set off by every little thing that gets on your nerves?
You are not alone in this struggle if you do.
Anger has seeped into cultures across the world, and all too often people do not have the emotional intelligence or spiritual maturity to combat it.
Everywhere you look in American society today, on the television, on social media, in person and on and on, people are blowing up in anger. Many times, they feel their outbursts are warranted and they are in fact righteously indignant.
Yet most of the time, that simply is not true. For Christians, the fight against anger is an especially important one, due to the fact they carry the name of Jesus in their identity. And yes, the Bible does record Jesus getting angry at the merchants who were desecrating the Lord’s temple in John 2:15-17, but that does not justify many Christians’ outbursts today who are suffering under the spirit of anger.
Anger Spirit’s Roots
Anger can arise in a person’s life through various means.
Perhaps anger stemmed from being hurt by someone or some event in your life and now has taken root in your heart. Perhaps you grew up with a parent who took out their anger on you in abusive ways and now you struggle with that very same spirit.
However, the spirit of anger took root in your life, if you hope to get rid of it there must be one particular thing that you must do when it comes to battling the spirit in your life: intentionality.
We always must be intentional in our actions when it comes to spiritual warfare. We must take control through the power of the Holy Spirit over this spirit affecting our lives and intentionally cast it out.
Easier said than done, right?
With that intentionality must come perseverance. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
The temptation to be angry is going to be there, but the perseverance through that trial is what will bring the blessing after the trial.
Practice Makes the Patience Muscle Stronger
Look, this is not going to be an easy, walk-in-the-park change that takes place overnight. Some days are easier than others, some people are easier to deal with than others, sometimes in life we just feel like we have more control over our emotions than days when it feels like every little thing irritates us and piles up until it eventually boils over.
With time, faith and practice, come experience, maturity and strength. These are all great things to aspire to, but what are we supposed to do in the meantime when it feels like this burden just will not leave us alone?
We need to do the very thing our flesh hates to do, what we all too often “just don’t feel like doing,” and that is spending our valuable time in the Word of God and in prayer with our God.
It almost sounds too easy to the ear. Yet do we believe that society would become what it has today if people were spending the necessary amount of time in Scripture, prayer and fasting?
Probably not.
This is not meant to cast blame on any one thing or person, this is simply to point out that we will still endure trials such as dealing with our anger even when we read the Bible, pray and fast. But we will be stronger and better prepared to deny our flesh what it really wants to do, and instead act out of the power of the Holy Spirit.
The devil and his minions are not going to let go that easy however, as they often lie in wait for one of those life moments where we just hit a low spot. The valleys are there, and the enemy knows, but thankfully so does God.
Mastering Your Flesh
One of the hardest things to do when overcoming anger is to deny that rising pressure within us as we just want to unload words that tear down instead of build up. Whether in the car, at home, at work or any location in our lives, it is never easy to stop simply and say, “Jesus, I lay this anger down at Your altar. I do not want it and I cast it out of my life in Your holy name.”
It is achievable, however, and should be a goal, an intentional goal, for someone who is both suffering from anger and wants to remove it from their life.
Not only is the goal achievable, it is a desirable goal to have, especially when one takes into account just how many verses in the Bible are about anger and controlling it.
King Solomon, widely considered to be the wisest ruler in the history of the world, wrote extensively in the book of Proverbs about the benefits of controlling one’s anger and the wisdom in doing so. Proverbs 29:11 highlights excellently the wisdom in controlling one’s anger and emotions in general: “A fool utters all his mind, but a wise man keeps it in until afterwards.” This is such an excellent verse in that it highlights the wisdom of God and the foolishness of Satan.
A wise person does not ignore the anger as though it were not there, but instead they recognize it, they are intentional in their handling of it, and deal with it in a healthy way at a time that is conducive for it.
God is a God of order, of design. He is longsuffering, steadfast and patient with His sons and daughters. Just look at the history of the Israelites as told across the Old Testament!
God does not lash out in an unrestrained matter the instant His perfect heart is grieved by the actions of His creation. He controls it, like He controls everything in existence, and the Bible says His anger is stirred at sin, yet whenever His punishments on cities or people are eventually doled out, it is after attempts are made at having the offending parties repent of and turn from their ways.
Not so with the enemy of God, Satan.
Prowling Enemy to Defeat
Satan irrationally lashed out as Lucifer in the misguided notion that he was as worthy of praise as God Himself. His anger was so great after his expulsion from heaven he attempted to take as many servants of God with him out of paradise. Then, in his anger, humiliation and resentment toward God, he began an eternal campaign against God and His creation.
Satan riled up Cain’s anger against his own brother Abel to commit the first recorded murder in humanity’s history. Over the years, Satan has mastered manipulating the anger of men and women to commit atrocities that make Cain’s crime pale in comparison.
Christians today can see this visceral, spiritual reaction in those who do not have Jesus Christ in their lives when His name is uttered.
Jesus told His disciples in John 15:18-20: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world therefore hates you.”
When the world bares its fangs against Christians, which is occurring with more and more frequency, believers must be prepared for the coming trials.
Emotions flare when we are personally attacked, or worse, those we love are threatened with some form of harm or intimidation. Many believe that we are in the preparation phases of the end times, and if that is correct, it is more important than ever that Christians bear true witness of Jesus Christ in love, not in anger.
The enemy is coming and will continue targeting Christians to get them to react in ways that are detrimental to the gospel message. It is our job not only to be ready for these attacks, but to counter-attack with the power of the Holy Spirit and defeat Satan and his forces on the spiritual battlefield.
James Lasher is staff writer and copy editor at Charisma Media.
