A dear lady recently called and asked me to pray with her. As we talked, she shared how angry she felt toward someone who had done something deeply wrong within her family. You could hear the pain in her voice. She wasn’t simply frustrated; she was wounded. And that wound had turned into anger she didn’t quite know how to handle.
During this same week, I also received a harsh email from someone who didn’t even sign their name. I’ll admit—it stung a little. It’s never pleasant to read words filled with judgment and wrongful assumptions, especially when the person isn’t willing to identify themselves. But after reading it, I simply gave it to the Lord and moved on.
As I was praying about these matters this morning, the Lord brought to mind the prophet Jeremiah, particularly chapters 11 and 12. Jeremiah was no stranger to emotional struggle. He endured betrayal and opposition from those around him. Yet he did something many of us forget to do with anger, hurt, and confusion; he brought them straight to the Lord.
In Jeremiah 11, we see him pouring out his heart before God. He had been deeply wounded by the treachery around him. The pain was so intense that he cried out with anger for God to bring vengeance. What made the pain even heavier was that the betrayal did not come from enemies. Scripture tells us that even his own relatives, the house of his father, dealt treacherously with him.
By the time we reach chapter 12, Jeremiah is still wrestling with the situation. He pleads with the Lord, trying to understand why it seems as though the wicked prosper and live happily without consequence.
If we are honest, Jeremiah’s cry is one many of us have felt. When someone wounds us deeply, something inside us rises up and demands justice. We want the wrong to be made right. We want the person to answer for what they have done.
Yet as we read Jeremiah’s words, we are reminded that God is not indifferent to injustice. The Lord sees every act of treachery. Nothing escapes His notice.
One thing I’ve noticed is that God’s response to wrong is different from ours. Our anger flares quickly when we’ve been hurt. God’s anger, on the other hand, is steady, patient, and always perfectly just. He sees every wrong, yet His response is measured, aimed at what is right rather than what our pain urgently desires. Sometimes that means judgment. Sometimes it means leading a sinner to repentance. But in every case, God’s purpose is that what is right ultimately be restored.
Our anger, by contrast, often struggles to see beyond the moment. It longs for immediate vindication.
The truth is that anger rarely begins as anger. Most of the time, it begins as hurt. Someone betrays us, violates our trust, or wounds us deeply. The heart feels pain, and anger quickly rises up to protect that wound. In that sense, anger often becomes the armor we put on over a broken heart.
When we begin to see anger this way, something important becomes clear. Beneath much of our anger is not simply injustice, it is a wounded heart. And God does not ignore wounded hearts. Again and again in Scripture, we see the Lord draw near to those who are broken and burdened. He is not only a God of justice who sees every wrong, but also a God who heals what has been damaged within us.
We see this most clearly in Christ. Rather than meeting human sin with bitterness, God met it with sacrificial love. The cross shows us both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s mercy toward wounded people.
So the question becomes very practical for us: What do we do with the anger that rises when someone deeply hurts us?
How do we reconcile passages such as Romans 12:19, where God says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord,” with the words of Ephesians 4:26, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath”?
The first step is simple honesty. We must be willing to admit our anger to God.
Anger is a real emotion, and the Bible does not pretend otherwise. When someone abuses, exploits, or commits injustice against another person, anger naturally arises. In moments like that, anger itself is not the problem.
The danger comes when anger begins to live in the heart. What begins as a moment of anger can turn into bitterness, resentment, and even hatred if we let it linger. Anger was never meant to become a permanent resident of the soul.
Instead, it serves as an alarm bell. It tells us that something is wrong, that a wound has occurred, that we need to spend time in prayer and bring the matter before God.
This is where many of us struggle. We know we are supposed to give things to the Lord, but we are not always sure what that really means.
Giving our anger to God does not mean pretending nothing happened or denying the pain. Instead, it means bringing the matter honestly before Him, telling Him what happened, how it hurt, and exactly what we feel. After all, God already sees the full story in ways we never can; He knows every hidden wound and understands every motive.
Then we entrust the situation to His justice. When we place our anger into His hands, we are acknowledging that His wisdom and His judgment are far greater than our own.
Entrusting the matter to God does not mean the memory suddenly disappears or that the pain fades. It means we release the burden of being the judge. Justice belongs to the Lord, not to us. And so, we place the matter back into His hands again and again whenever anger tries to return.
What, then, are we to make of those moments when we rise from prayer and still feel the heat of anger within us?
Often, it simply means we have not stayed long enough in God's presence. We may have spoken words in prayer, but the heart has not yet been fully opened before Him; the soul has not yet truly looked upon Christ. His Word has not yet had time to sink deeply into us, and so our hearts remain dim, still needing more of His light.
No one can behold the countenance of Jesus Christ and remain unchanged. He has forgiven us. He has been good to us. And when His light is truly seen, it enters the heart and shines outward through the life.
Living with an intimate awareness of His presence causes anger and fleshly passions to lose their hold. They cannot remain where His light dwells. In their place grow love, compassion, and even pity for those who have wronged us. In the end, the battle against anger is not won by willpower. It is won by presence, remaining near to Jesus Christ.
The closer we draw to Christ, the more clearly we see both His justice and His mercy. Little by little, what once burned within us begins to calm, until the heart that once cried for vengeance rests, instead, trusting the righteous Judge who never fails. So, let us actively choose to draw near, surrendering our hurts and trusting Him to bring healing and justice as only He can.
RETURN TO ALL BLOGS
During this same week, I also received a harsh email from someone who didn’t even sign their name. I’ll admit—it stung a little. It’s never pleasant to read words filled with judgment and wrongful assumptions, especially when the person isn’t willing to identify themselves. But after reading it, I simply gave it to the Lord and moved on.
As I was praying about these matters this morning, the Lord brought to mind the prophet Jeremiah, particularly chapters 11 and 12. Jeremiah was no stranger to emotional struggle. He endured betrayal and opposition from those around him. Yet he did something many of us forget to do with anger, hurt, and confusion; he brought them straight to the Lord.
In Jeremiah 11, we see him pouring out his heart before God. He had been deeply wounded by the treachery around him. The pain was so intense that he cried out with anger for God to bring vengeance. What made the pain even heavier was that the betrayal did not come from enemies. Scripture tells us that even his own relatives, the house of his father, dealt treacherously with him.
By the time we reach chapter 12, Jeremiah is still wrestling with the situation. He pleads with the Lord, trying to understand why it seems as though the wicked prosper and live happily without consequence.
If we are honest, Jeremiah’s cry is one many of us have felt. When someone wounds us deeply, something inside us rises up and demands justice. We want the wrong to be made right. We want the person to answer for what they have done.
Yet as we read Jeremiah’s words, we are reminded that God is not indifferent to injustice. The Lord sees every act of treachery. Nothing escapes His notice.
One thing I’ve noticed is that God’s response to wrong is different from ours. Our anger flares quickly when we’ve been hurt. God’s anger, on the other hand, is steady, patient, and always perfectly just. He sees every wrong, yet His response is measured, aimed at what is right rather than what our pain urgently desires. Sometimes that means judgment. Sometimes it means leading a sinner to repentance. But in every case, God’s purpose is that what is right ultimately be restored.
Our anger, by contrast, often struggles to see beyond the moment. It longs for immediate vindication.
The truth is that anger rarely begins as anger. Most of the time, it begins as hurt. Someone betrays us, violates our trust, or wounds us deeply. The heart feels pain, and anger quickly rises up to protect that wound. In that sense, anger often becomes the armor we put on over a broken heart.
When we begin to see anger this way, something important becomes clear. Beneath much of our anger is not simply injustice, it is a wounded heart. And God does not ignore wounded hearts. Again and again in Scripture, we see the Lord draw near to those who are broken and burdened. He is not only a God of justice who sees every wrong, but also a God who heals what has been damaged within us.
We see this most clearly in Christ. Rather than meeting human sin with bitterness, God met it with sacrificial love. The cross shows us both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s mercy toward wounded people.
So the question becomes very practical for us: What do we do with the anger that rises when someone deeply hurts us?
How do we reconcile passages such as Romans 12:19, where God says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord,” with the words of Ephesians 4:26, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath”?
The first step is simple honesty. We must be willing to admit our anger to God.
Anger is a real emotion, and the Bible does not pretend otherwise. When someone abuses, exploits, or commits injustice against another person, anger naturally arises. In moments like that, anger itself is not the problem.
The danger comes when anger begins to live in the heart. What begins as a moment of anger can turn into bitterness, resentment, and even hatred if we let it linger. Anger was never meant to become a permanent resident of the soul.
Instead, it serves as an alarm bell. It tells us that something is wrong, that a wound has occurred, that we need to spend time in prayer and bring the matter before God.
This is where many of us struggle. We know we are supposed to give things to the Lord, but we are not always sure what that really means.
Giving our anger to God does not mean pretending nothing happened or denying the pain. Instead, it means bringing the matter honestly before Him, telling Him what happened, how it hurt, and exactly what we feel. After all, God already sees the full story in ways we never can; He knows every hidden wound and understands every motive.
Then we entrust the situation to His justice. When we place our anger into His hands, we are acknowledging that His wisdom and His judgment are far greater than our own.
Entrusting the matter to God does not mean the memory suddenly disappears or that the pain fades. It means we release the burden of being the judge. Justice belongs to the Lord, not to us. And so, we place the matter back into His hands again and again whenever anger tries to return.
What, then, are we to make of those moments when we rise from prayer and still feel the heat of anger within us?
Often, it simply means we have not stayed long enough in God's presence. We may have spoken words in prayer, but the heart has not yet been fully opened before Him; the soul has not yet truly looked upon Christ. His Word has not yet had time to sink deeply into us, and so our hearts remain dim, still needing more of His light.
No one can behold the countenance of Jesus Christ and remain unchanged. He has forgiven us. He has been good to us. And when His light is truly seen, it enters the heart and shines outward through the life.
Living with an intimate awareness of His presence causes anger and fleshly passions to lose their hold. They cannot remain where His light dwells. In their place grow love, compassion, and even pity for those who have wronged us. In the end, the battle against anger is not won by willpower. It is won by presence, remaining near to Jesus Christ.
The closer we draw to Christ, the more clearly we see both His justice and His mercy. Little by little, what once burned within us begins to calm, until the heart that once cried for vengeance rests, instead, trusting the righteous Judge who never fails. So, let us actively choose to draw near, surrendering our hurts and trusting Him to bring healing and justice as only He can.
RETURN TO ALL BLOGS
