James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
If you have anger in your heart, if love is not there, that doesn't mean the Holy Spirit of God forsakes you. If you are in Christ, He cannot and He will not leave you. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. What grieves the Holy Spirit? These things: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil. Bitterness is an unresolved hurt. Somebody's hurt you and done you wrong. It may be real, it may be imaginary, but you perceive that somebody has done you wrong. Bitterness turns to wrath. The word wrath has the idea of heat, something burning, sort of a slow burn. What's the difference between wrath and anger? Wrath is that slow burn, but anger is when somebody loses their temper. You say, Well, I lost my temper. You probably found it. You know when a person says, I lost my temper, what they're saying is, It's not my fault, it's not really me, I lost it. No, what is happening, is that you're showing what's in your heart. In those moments, the Holy Spirit has not forsaken you, you have Him in you to equip you and help when you feel prone to bitterness, wrath, and anger. Write out a verse to memorize and reflect on the next time you feel prone to sinful anger.
This devotional was written by Pastor/teacher Adrian Rogers. The Copyright owner is Love Worth Finding. Used with written permission. You may contact lwf.org and be blessed directly and freely by Biblical teaching.
