Knowing the Truth - Anger Turned Inward

I was very angry!!! I hadn’t realized the anger had been with me most of my life. I had stuffed the anger down and continued on with life. These wounds burned under the surface. The outward show went on but the damage continued.

A recent journey of forgiveness had revealed much of this anger in me, toward myself and others. It had been slowly leaking out over the years.  Some instances had flowed harder and left more devastation in their wake.

One result of this built-up anger was an encounter with depression. I began my research on this diagnosis and discovered and interesting link between depression and anger. The description I found stated that, “Depression was anger turned inward.” That was me!

My anger stuffed had not gone away by trying to hide it. It had festered, warped, and tainted my life with its destructive power. Was there any hope and help? Yes. I have found it!

Anger has been a weakness in my life. It still is. My journey through forgiveness has helped to heal and repair much of the damage in my own life, but the journey does not end there. I have to daily fight against this weakness through God’s Word and prayer.

When I feel the anger and hurt I need to continually surrender my anger to God and claim the forgiveness that has already occurred. If God has brought something to mind that I have not dealt with, I need to forgive and surrender. This is all through His help and strength.

Over time God is helping me to be more sensitive to this weakness. He is giving great victory through His strength moment by moment. He has given me hope that anger will not control me like it has in the past. As I surrender my life to the control of the Holy Spirit I have the hope of His fruit being produced in my life.

God rescued me out of hopelessness to begin a journey for Truth and healing. He is healing me through His Word, the Truth, and prayer. Seeking God in this way has begun peeling away layers of lies and sin. Each removed layer gives a new perspective and understanding of what my life really is. My anger disguised and pushed down had not been recognized but His Truth reveals my sin and sets me free!

Heavenly Father,

Thank you that You want to set us free through Your Word! Help us know Your Truth. Help us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, knowing that our anger does not produce Your righteousness. We surrender our desires of control to You. Help us speak gentle answers and halt the harsh words, understanding that the emotion of anger is not wrong, it is the wrong actions we do in it. Help us to quickly resolve our conflicts of anger so that Satan will not get a place to stand in our lives. Reveal any hidden anger that we have not dealt with. Help us be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as You have forgiven us because of what Christ has done. Help us to forgive ourselves. Help us to put ourselves under Your control, resisting the devil, knowing that the devil will flee from us when we do this. We resist all the companions of anger: bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander, and all malice. Through the Holy Spirit produce this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We ask that You will accomplish all these things in us through Your power and strength, and for Your honor and glory.

 

In Jesus Name,

 

Amen!

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Praying God’s Word…

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20 ESV)

 

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1-3 NASB)

 

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32 ESV)

 

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 ESV)

 “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” (Galatians 5:16-24 NLT)

 

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:31-32 ESV)

 

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26 ESV)

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 ESV)

 

 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,” (Ephesians 3:20 NASB)