In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul writes,
In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27, NIV)
God understands the heart of mankind. He knows how difficult people can be, and He knows we’ll get angry at times. That’s a given, and in fact a natural part of being human. We were created in God’s image, and even He was angry from time to time.
But here’s the thing, anger isn’t a license to sin. The Bible instructs us to be self-controlled and temperate in all things. We’re instructed to be be gentle, long-suffering, and kind.
Now, with that said, let’s not assume that all anger is good. Just because God gets angry that doesn’t necessarily justify ours. People get angry for all kinds of reasons, sometimes we’re self-centered, other times we’re impatient, some days we’re hurt, and other days we’re simply unreasonable. In any case, here’s the thing we need to remember: Satan is trying to get his foot in the door.
Have you ever been approached by one of those salesmen at the mall? What about at your front door? It always starts with a simple question. And once you answer that question, you’re hooked. I made eye contact with a guy at the mall once, and the next thing I knew he was curling my hair with his overpriced wand. That’s called getting a foothold.
Don’t let Satan get a foothold. If you open the door, he’s sure to step in. And if you entertain that, he’ll start unpacking his bags.
It’s not just what we do with our anger that leads us to sin, sometimes it’s the anger itself. And so, we need to control our anger, by asking ourselves if it’s line with God’s will. If not, we need to soften our hearts by changing our thoughts.
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Tilling the Soil
If you find yourself getting angry, practice calming down by changing your thoughts. One good way to do this is by kneeling in prayer, and another is by digging into God’s Word.
Planting Hope
In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27, NIV)
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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife