God, being well acquainted, through Christ, with our human frailty,  doesn’t expect us to be consistently righteous and perfect. But, if we confess Christ as our Lord, I do believe God pursues our hearts to shape us in the righteous image of Jesus.

Throughout my journey as a Christian man, the Lord has been very kind not to demand too much all at once. However, when he asks for something big, He tends to make it very clear. Recently, He asked me to evaluate my tendency toward anger.

Now, it would be easy to brush this conviction away and stand on the lie that all men deal with anger in some shape or form, and a little anger is perfectly acceptable in God’s eyes. Though there may be a nugget of truth in those statements, living in accordance with God’s will demands a stronger, more coherent foundation than a little nugget. When we look at God throughout the Scriptures, we see His anger is directed toward sin. He hates sin and we must learn to hate sin as well. But when we get angry, is the anger in response to our hate of sin or is our anger a sinful response to something that didn’t go our way?  

If this prompts you to conviction about your anger, God is kind and gracious to forgive you. Now, you get to join God in His work of healing and restoration. Get out a journal or take time to answer the following questions (Don’t worry, I’m answering these questions with you!): 

1.First, question your angry thoughts and actions. Why do I get angry? Is it due to unmet expectations or a sense of entitlement? Or is it due to a lack of patience or self-righteousness? These questions need to be addressed while evaluating our thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

When I questioned myself, I realized the answers were fairly simple, but also very difficult to change. I determined that much of my anger was due to placing unrealistic expectations on both God and the people around me. My plan for how the day should go and how others around me should respond to me was more important than His plan. This really boils down to my sense of control. I imagine a lot of us struggle with relinquishing control. Some of us may even chalk it up to our personality type or Enneagram number. However, if our need for control standing in our way and causing us to fall victim to anger, it is something that must be changed.

2. Second, admit your sin. Once I evaluated my anger response, I had to admit my sin to God. Repentance opens the door to freedom. It’s amazing what can happen when we invite God to lead our daily lives and allow those around us off the hook. This is easy to say, but much harder to do. Especially after doing it wrong for many years. Luckily, the Lord is close to us and gives us a way forward.

3. Next, let God train you in righteousness. Fortunately, our Good Father equips is with His Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is God-breathed and us useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” When I surrendered my anger, He lovingly rebuked my sin and taught me how to correct this sinful response. He helps me train in righteousness. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds is that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” He has imparted His divine power to us!

The battle against our anger may seem insurmountable. It is in fact impossible without His divine power, mercy, and grace.  If you are struggling with anger, the path toward healing can start today. Ephesians 4:26 says “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” This is a call to action! It starts with admitting your sin and calling on Jesus to open up the road to freedom.

In the comments below, share if you have struggled with unrighteous anger. What is God teaching you?

Tom is married to his lovely wife, Meghan (RW RevWild Coordinator.) They have two kids Caden(13) and Madison (11). Tom and Meghan completed Instructor Training in Platoon 15.  He has hiked and shepherded the Revelation Wellness Grand Canyon hike called Rim to Him. His day job is in risk management and insurance which is fairly ironic because he likes doing risky things like surfing, skydiving, and obstacle races. God has blessed him abundantly in life and a lot of who he is can now can be attributed to getting healthy through his journey with Christ and Rev.

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Workout with us in this #wednesdayworkout! For more workouts like this, visit RevWell TV!

SARA’S CARDIO STRENGTH – “A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS”

This workout will flip-flop you back and forth between cardio and resistance training. Sure to keep your body guessing. Muscle confusion? No big deal. God is never confused about us. Get comfortable being uncomfortable in this workout.(ADVANCED) (ISAIAH 43:19; HAND WEIGHTS)