21 Bible Promises for WomenSample

Anger

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

JAMES 1:19–20 CSB

The Bible promises that patience pays and anger costs. Anger is harmful, hurtful, and dangerous to your spiritual health. Whenever your thoughts are hijacked by angry emotions, you forfeit the peace and perspective that might otherwise be yours. And to make matters worse, angry thoughts may cause you to behave in irrational, self-destructive ways. As the old saying goes, “Anger is only one letter away from danger.”

When we’ve been hurt badly, we don’t forget easily. When we can identify the person who hurt us, we naturally focus our ire on the perpetrator. Unless we can find the inner strength to forgive that person, we’re likely to internalize the anger for years, for decades, or for a lifetime. Anger turned inward is always detrimental to our spiritual health and disruptive to our lives. And that’s one reason—but not the only reason—that we should learn how to forgive other people quickly and completely. To do otherwise will result in needless anger and inner turmoil.

First Peter 5:8–9 warns, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith” (NLT). And of this you can be sure: Your adversary will use an unforgiving heart, and the inevitable anger that dwells within it, to sabotage your life and undermine your faith. To be safe, you must cleanse your heart, and you must forgive. You must say yes to God, yes to mercy, yes to love, and no to anger.

It takes a lot of grace and maturity to simply forgive, but a lot of healing takes place when you do.

ELIZABETH GEORGE

GOD’S PROMISES ABOUT ANGER

“But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”

MATTHEW 5:22 NIV

He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.

PROVERBS 14:29 NKJV

A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but one slow to anger calms strife.

PROVERBS 15:18 CSB