How Do I Handle My Anger? Series

It was one of the best-known photographs and most tragic photographs of the Vietnam War. The picture a young burn victim running down the road in terror with her arms outstretched while soldiers walked behind her at his distance. On June 8, 1972, Kim's village came under attack. The South Vietnamese army mistakenly dropped a jelly-like chemical called napalm on some children, severely burning many children. The anguish on nine-year-old Kim Phuc's face was evident to all. More than a third of her body was burned, leaving her with scars that are four times as thick as her skin in some places. After months of hospitalization and many surgeries, Kim returned to her family. Since then, Kim, now in her late 50s, has experienced pain and loss of mobility.

Sometimes simply holding her purse would cause discomfort; she couldn't quite reach out as far as she'd like with her left arm. But what doctors couldn't heal, Kim Phuc says, was her heart. She said, "The anger inside me was like a hatred high as a mountain."

Anger is such a potent emotion.

Harvard researcher Walter Cannon described what happens to our bodies when we are confronted by the "fight" or "flight" syndrome: "Respiration deepens; the heart beats more rapidly; the arterial pressure rises; the blood is shifted from the stomach and intestines to the heart, central nervous system, and the muscles; the processes of the alimentary canal cease; sugar is freed from the reserves in the liver; the spleen contracts and discharges its contents of concentrated corpuscles, and adrenalin is secreted."

That's the physiological description of an angry person. Again, anger is such a potent emotion. And the Bible teaches us how to handle our anger: "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26).

What makes you angry?

One sister is so angry at another sister because of the way she handled the will of their parents. She has made up her mind that she will not forgive her sister. One man confessed is so angry at a particular political party for what they are doing to our nation. Another man was angry and frustrated because his brain was not functioning properly after a stroke. Still, another was angry at himself for his long-held drug and alcohol addiction. He's angry at the hurt he's caused his family. Some of you are seething mad because you were abused by someone you trusted. In the moments to come, I want to tell you how the Bible speaks of using our anger and controlling our anger. The truth is anger can consume us. We want to model our minds and hearts after God's mind and heart. His anger is to be our anger. His patience is to be our patience.

1. The Complexity of Anger

"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Notice the Bible doesn't say, "Christians don't get angry." Instead, the Bible says, "Be angry…" Pause and repeat. The Bible says, "Be angry…" Anger can be wrong, but not all anger is wrong.

Again, not all anger is wrong. Some anger is good. The Lord Jesus got angry. There is good anger, even godly anger. And the Bible says that God, the Father is angry.

1.1 God and Anger

The Bible says God Himself is angry at times: "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love" (Micah 7:18).

The Bible speaks a great deal about the wrath of God. Jesus Himself spoke of God's wrath in the very place where He famously spoke about God's amazing love: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36).

And that's just a sampling of the numerous places where the Bible says God is capable of wrath. Perhaps you don't like the idea of a wrathful God. Times have changed, and many people reject the Bible's idea of God's wrath.

1.1.1 Sinners in the Hands of Angry God

One of the most famous sermons preached in American history is a sermon entitled, Sinners in the Hands of Angry God. Many of you were like me, and you studied this sermon a little in your English class. Some years ago, I held Jonathan Edwards very notes to this sermon he preached back on July 8, 1741. Edwards preached the message to a hard-hearted congregation. It had a profound effect on the people in attendance and in school history. The group gathering for church that day was described as "thoughtless and vain" by one person who was there. No one was serious as the worship service was going on. Few even knew this visiting pastor from another town. And Edwards was what we would call an academic – he wasn't a "yeller' and a screamer.'" Instead, history tells us he was a methodical preacher – really steady delivery. No, he wasn't a big-hair lunatic that could dismiss with a sweep of your hand. Still, Edwards' imagery in the message is powerful.