The Rock Church: Beneath The Surface- Anger

Anger

We are emotional creatures. Today we start a series about the emotions that run beneath the surface in our lives.

There are many emotions: Happiness, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, Surprise, Acceptance, Love, Anger. Emotions are good – but, they need to be managed.

How many of us have made decisions or have reacted based on an emotion that was wrong? We got mad – and said or did something out of our anger.

“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Ephesians 4:26

Anger has many levels - from mild annoyance to full tilt rage.

Not all anger is wrong. When you see an injustice take place, anger moves you to do something about it. The righteous anger of the Lord is mentioned 35 times in the Bible!

Psalm 106:40

Psalm 37:8

However, it’s what we do with our anger that is important. The vast majority of Scripture gives us warnings about the destructive capability of anger.

I was in a singing group in Bible College. I remember living on a bus all summer with 30 other people. The opportunity to get aggravated, annoyed, upset, and mad was always present. I wrote all these verses out on 3X5 cards and pulled them out whenever I was getting annoyed – sometimes once a day, sometimes once an hour!

It was one of my first great lessons in the power of the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12

Luke 1:37

As we journey through this series, get verses that pertain to your emotions and meditate on them.

Anger can rise up when life is not lining up with our expectations, and when things feel out of our control.

A lot of anger is born out of the need to control; when we start to feel like we’re not in control, we get angry.

Let’s face it: Life is hard to control. People are hard to control. None of us wants to be controlled – but we certainly want people around us to line up with our expectations!

Some of us have been horribly hurt, disappointed, and done wrong - so now there’s a layer of anger underneath the surface.

Let go of the need to control and trust God.

John 8:23

“Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land, And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” - Psalm 37:1-11

There are a lot of angry Christians out there! What are you mad at? Who are you mad at? Let go and trust God.

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