April 30, 2025 Devo

Do you think of yourself as an angry person? Most of us probably don’t. But at the same time, almost all of us have times when we allow the Anger Animal to take over. We say things we wish we wouldn’t have said. We do things we wish we wouldn’t have done. We use tones that are harsh and hurtful and often hurt the very people that we say we love the most. Why do we do that? Well, I think there are several reasons.
Some of us have anger that has roots that are deep within us. It’s rooted in pain we experienced in childhood. It’s rooted in experiences that left us feeling unwanted, uncared for, or unloved. It’s rooted in false images that we have of ourselves or false ideas that we have about other people. All this to say that for some of us, our anger is fed by a woundedness that we need to allow God to heal. Hurting people will hurt people. Are you one of those?
Some of us have “anxiety anger.” We’re worried about our finances. We’re worried about a health issue. We’re worried about our aging parents. We’re worried about the choices our kids are making. Whatever it is, anxious people can easily become angry people. With our nerves already on edge, it doesn’t take much to set us off. Innocent people who touch that nerve can become the vent hole for our emotions.
Others of us have passive/aggressive anger. We haven’t learned how to have hard, honest conversations about things that are bothering us. So we let little things go…at least, until they’re not little anymore! The annoyances stack up and the little irritations build up until we just can’t take it anymore, and we unleash a barrel of anger on someone that we saved up one cup at a time. This often leaves people wide-eyed and wondering where all that anger came from.
Whatever the cause or roots of our anger, it becomes a tool the Enemy uses to drive a wedge between us and others. It also becomes a place of accusation that he uses to inflict guilt, shame, and self-loathing. I want to encourage you to sit with God for a few moments today and talk to Him openly and honestly about how you’re managing YOUR anger animal. Maybe you need God’s healing. Maybe you need to lay your worries at God’s feet rather than taking the stress out on others. Or maybe you need to ask God for the courage to deal with irritations when they’re small, rather than giving in to your passive/aggressive nature. Let God tame that anger animal within you. Those you love will thank you. That’s God’s Word for you today.