How To Overcome Anger!

January 26, 2023 (Updated)

Feeling angry is a normal emotion that we all have experienced at one time or another. It can be difficult to control your feelings when things happen that are extremely frustrating. The enemy knows this and will ensure that your annoyance and irritability level become full on anger if you allow him to. His goal is to turn that extreme emotion into a stronghold that will not be easy to break. We will all have those days when you find yourself wanting to rip your hair out follicle by follicle! It’s when you allow your anger to get entirely out of control that will begin to generate problems in your life.

You have to deal with your anger before it creates more issues down the line including interfering with your ability to have positive relationships as well as allowing the enemy to come into your life to create chaos. Admitting that you have difficulty suppressing anger is definitely the first step to doing something about it.

I don’t believe anyone just loves to be irate and upset to extreme levels. It can make you feel discouraged, defeated, and completely alone which exacerbates negative emotions that are already there. Luckily there are some things that you can do that will help you get past those tormenting feelings!

Ask the Lord for strength

When coping with excessive feelings of anger, it will be challenging to contain them on your own. It seems like you’re ok one second and then like the flip of a switch you’re outraged and can’t even explain why. The best way to handle fury when it’s uncontrollable is to get into the Lord’s Word. He explains to us that we are to cast down imaginations and every adverse thought that is contrary to the Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

These verses of Scripture also let us know that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (physical) but mighty through God, He has the ability to calm your spirit when nothing else can. He can bring you peace in the midst of any storm regardless of how tumultuous it is, John 16:33! When someone is displaying signs of rage; they don’t enjoy the feelings that come with such a damaging sentiment.

The Lord has the power to set you free and help you get to a place where you can control your anger. Be intentional and genuine when you come to Him for deliverance. Remember wrath is one of the ways that the enemy uses to keep you bound because it causes destruction and chaos in one’s life.

Never forget that the Word of God is your double edged Sword, slicing through the enemy’s devices, Hebrews 4:12. Scripture is Living and Powerful and has the capability to change your entire frame of mind Romans 12:2. The more Word you allow to manifest in your spirit the more freedom you will have from things that keep you from being in total peace, John 8:31-32.

When those episodes of anger begin to fester in you, the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the scriptures that will help you combat those feelings. The key thing is intentionality; you cannot overcome those overwhelming thoughts of anger if your Scriptural memory is blank. The enemy will take full advantage at your lack of spiritual weaponry.

Find out where the anger stems from

Anger is one of those emotions that tend to develop and get worse with time. The more you allow it to cultivate the harder it is going to be to restrain it. The question you want to ask yourself is where did it all begin?

For instance:

Did you experience anger in your household growing up which can lead to you displaying learned behaviors?
Did you encounter a traumatic situation in your life?
Problems with drugs and alcohol can bring out negative emotions like anger.
Sudden loss in your life can trigger anger.
Depression and anxiety if not treated can lead to anger.

All of these circumstances can easily contribute to extreme and overpowering issues with rage. Make no mistake about it; the devil plays a definitive role in where your anger is stemming from. He knows all of our weaknesses and is a master at magnifying them. When you can find out where your anger began in the first place, it will help you learn how to deal with the root issue.

The Lord Jesus Christ has the ability to break any kind of bondage that is holding you captive including extreme anger. Your Double-Edged Sword can break the chains of darkness that are preventing you from being the person that you know that you can be. The thing is you have to be intentional and committed to putting forth the energy that it will take for you to get set free.

You can seek professional guidance in the form of therapy, anger management classes, or support groups in addition to getting into your Word. Find the route that works best for you and stick to it. Make sure you don’t give up half way, stay the course until you know that there are significant changes in the intensity of your anger.

Know your triggers

Being aware of what is triggering your fury is what is going to allow you to stop it before it becomes uncontainable. Every one of us has buttons that if pushed causes us to react in an undesirable manner. When you feel yourself getting carried away take a moment to relax and regroup.

Write down what happened that took you to that negative place and keep track of it. You might not even be aware of what it is that is initiating your destructive behavior. It is vital to pinpoint what is causing your anger because it allows you to find techniques that will help you take charge of your mind-set.

For example:

Does your anger peek its head when you are in a situation where you feel rejected?
Do you get upset when you have to repeat yourself more than once?
Does your anger appear when the same situation occurs?
Do you get agitated when you are ignored or overlooked?
Do you get angry when you don’t have full control of a situation?
Do you get exceedingly upset when faced with a circumstance tied to jealousy?

One of the main things that you need to remember is that your adversary the devil is behind every negative emotion and feeling that you’re experiencing. His main goal is to kill, steal, and destroy, John 10:10. If he can get you distracted from the calling that the Lord has in your life by instigating rage and ager, you best believe he will and he will do it masterfully.

The only way to come against the schemes of the devil is by engaging him with the Word of God. Jesus Christ battled him over and over again when He stated, “It is written” how much more do we need to use our Sword against him. Your adversary is relentless so you have to be strategic if you want to prevail against his persistency.

Build up your arsenal by meditating on Scriptures that are pertaining to your issue and this will help you build up your defense when he attacks. For instance, in this case since your problem is anger so pinpoint your primary triggers for your anger and tackle them. Is your rage stemming from jealousy? If so, find out where your distrust is coming from. These feelings can be linked to a lot of other emotions like low self-esteem and lack of confidence. If this is the case for you, meditate on verses that are pertaining to knowing your worth. Remember, it all goes back to the renewal of your mind.

I can’t express to you how vital getting into the Word of God truly is. It will allow you to learn how to manage your triggers, tame them, and keep them under control. It is definitely possible and can be done but you have put in the effort to guarantee that this negative emotion doesn’t become a stronghold in your daily life.

Never go to bed angry

In those moments of anger and frustration it can be difficult to forgive the person that you are upset with right away. Especially if what caused your infuriation is something that is not easily forgotten. So what we tend to do is hold on to the rage for days, weeks, and even in some instances for months. The Word of God tells us in Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”

Breaking down this Scripture we see that the Lord is telling us that it is not profitable to allow yourself to stay angry overnight. Why is this? The reason being is by you sleeping on your wrath and not gaining any resolve and you are opening up doors allowing the enemy to legally come in and invite other negative emotions like resentment, animosity, and eventually hatred.

Try your very best to speak to the person that you are upset at and come to some kind of resolution that both of you feel comfortable with. If you go to sleep with those feelings festering in your spirit, when you wake up it will only be worse. Often times it will create uneasiness and restlessness throughout the night preventing you from having peaceful sleep.

Take accountability for your actions

If you don’t admit that you have a problem with your anger, there is no way that you will be able to take the steps to do something about it. It takes a strong person to acknowledge that they have an issue and need some guidance to get through it. Once you can take accountability for your actions, you can come up with a game plan on how you can begin to change them.

Be honest with yourself about the role that you play in situations where you’ve lost your temper. Were you respectful during the conversation between you and the person you were irritated with? Did you place blame on others instead of taking full responsibility for your part? Did you start the argument to begin with? These are some of the questions that you can ask yourself when trying to recognize your part in what is taking your rage to the next level.

In the heat of the moment the last thing that you want to do is apologize for getting out of line with your emotions. The fact is that expressing regret for your actions will relieve so much tension allowing respectable communication between you and the person you are angry with.

Even if they fail to say that they are sorry for whatever role they played in the disagreement at hand, you still want to make a conscious decision to let them know that you are remorseful. When your fury erupts and you do or say something out of character that you regret, don’t make excuses for your actions. Make it a point to take full ownership for where you went wrong and fix it so that it doesn’t happen again.

Taking full accountability for your actions not only shows how spiritually mature you are, but it also shows your level of class. The more that you strive to allow the Holy Spirit to make significant changes in your heart, the easier these hard conversations with your loved ones regarding remorse will be. You will get the place where you want nothing to do with anger or any other emotion associated with it!

Bonus:

Scriptures that help fight anger:

Proverbs: 14:29

Don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

The Dangers of Anger

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2