Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 
1 Peter 5:8

“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

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There seem to be more reasons today to be angry, for good reasons and for poor reasons, than ever before in history. As I write this devotional, there is religious genocide occurring in Syria and Africa, where fellow Christians are targeted and killed by hatred. There are millions of other expressions of anger and hatred all around the world.

Today’s Scripture passages were written by the Apostles Peter and Paul to fellow Christians struggling to follow Jesus and practice love, kindness, and acceptance of each other in the context of persecution ranging from family divisions and social ostracism to violent attacks and imprisonment. Behind it all then— and still today—is the enemy of our souls  who actively wars against our Creator and us.

Right from the start, when I first fully surrendered to Jesus and began following Him, the Holy Spirit began healing and training me. Over the years, and a thousand “do-overs”, I have developed the self-control to usually forgive others quickly, praying for them and myself to be blessed and freed from anger. I have also learned to prayerfully rebuke the enemy’s influence by the authority, power, and love of Jesus. Whenever I find myself repeating angry thoughts, I rebuke such evil and ask God for forgiveness, and then I pray for the person or persons I was directing anger at.

Hatred is true spiritual blindness because if we could see others as Jesus sees them, we might be angry with them but not hate them. As hatred increases, so does fear and distrust of others. This is the world that we live in now. In contrast, we are called by Jesus to be in the world but not of it. We are to be peacemakers, to love our enemies, to show hospitality and kindness to others. We can be the leaven that leavens societies (Luke 13:20–21). This is good news, the Gospel of Jesus, our Christ.

Next Steps

Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to quickly and effectively handle anger when it arises in you. Prayerfully ask Him to learn His ways, that He might teach you and all of us.

Ask God for His peace that passes all understanding to fill you every day. Also pray for protection.

Now, be patient with yourself and keep trying. Our Father is an extremely patient parent who always corrects. He never shames. If you experience shame, rebuke the evil projection.