“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil… And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:26, 27, 30)

Anger is a strong uncomfortable and hostile emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. Anger impacts the body: increases the heart rate, the blood pressure, gives headaches, ulcer or depression. Anger desires to destroy something to be satisfied. Many people with unresolved anger die untimely death. Anger destroys relationships and is a major cause for divorce. There is a righteous anger and there is a sinful anger. Please note that there is a godly Christian anger that is not sinful! Few believers have learned the skill to use it successfully! To do spiritual warfare and successful deliverance on others you need to be angry! We are commanded to be angry the way God is angry! But we should be aware that there is a great danger for anger to become sinful. Any anger that is out of control, is not governed by the Word of God, is too extreme or too long in time will grieve the Holy Spirit. That anger is sinful. It must be repented of! The first crime, when Cain killed Abel, it was because of anger. The devil is the author of all sins, but two in particular: lying and anger are directly connected to him.

Anger manifests in two ways: aggressive (loud) anger and passive (silent) anger. The aggressive anger is easier to identify. It manifests as shouting, quarreling, bullying, oppressing people, hurting them and ignoring their feelings. These angry people always blame others. Their words are harsh causing much pain. They have a tendency to speak fast, drive fast and often seem impatient. They are reckless in spending money. The passive anger is quieter but it is as deadly as the one above. These people are emotionally cold. They display ‘I don’t care’ attitude. They oversleep, over-eat or over-diet. They refuse to help others who are in need. They ignore other people’s feelings. They talk to people like they are objects and not human beings. They avoid quarrels. They love to manipulate the aggressive anger people. They provoke them and when they get angry, they preach to them. The passive angry people are proud and more religious, thinking that they are better at controlling their anger. They have small vision for life. They make friends with other angry losers. They are secretive and gossip others. The silent anger is like a poison that kills the joy of all around them.

We are commanded to be angry like God is angry. God’s anger is always just. It a sign of His love because God hates sin! God’s anger is displayed and it was satisfied at the Cross! Because Jesus became sin for us, God’s anger ‘killed’ Him! We should fear God’s anger!

Study the way Jesus manifested His anger! Under great provocation He never sinned. His anger was always under control. He was angry with the religious leaders who were doing business in the house of God. He drove them away and overturned the tables. But He did not kill the doves these men were selling. In anger He rebuked the Pharisees saying that God’s house is ‘a house of prayer for all nations’ (Mk 11:17). Here we see that godly anger is necessary to do deliverance and spiritual warfare. A godly anger will result in an improved prayer life that will affect the nations. This is not a selfish small vision type of prayer. This is a free, generous intercession, revival producing prayer that God is delighted to answer. In another instance Jesus heals a man with a withered hand (Mk 3:1-5). The religious leaders were manifesting silent anger planning to kill Jesus. He too was angry with them because of their hardened stubborn hearts. God’s anger defeats human anger! The anger of Jesus manifested in healing the sick.

May we learn from the Lord to be angry and sin not! May we use our godly anger to attack the devil’s stronghold and to set the captives free!

I am angry with the devil! Therefore I say: Be healed! Be delivered! Be made whole! Be free! Be filled with the Holy Spirit! In Jesus’ name, amen! To the glory of God!