GIVE YOUR ANGER TO GOD

From Solid Ground daily devotionals by Mark Finley

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Prov. 16:32

We get control of our anger by giving it up to God. An inner-city kid named Ben can teach us how.

Ben grew up in a Detroit ghetto, a place where anger flows freely in the streets, where getting even with anyone who disrespects you is a way of life.

By the time Ben reached high school, he had developed quite a temper. As he listened to the radio one afternoon his buddy yelled, “You call that music?” and flipped the dial to another station. Ben shot back, “It’s better than what you like!” and grabbed the dial.

His buddy resisted, and is that instant a blind anger took hold of Ben. He grabbed the camping knife that he carried in his back pocket, snapped it open, and lunged at his friend’s belly. The blade hit his friend’s ROTC belt buckle with such force that it snapped and dropped to the ground.

Ben stared down at the broken blade, and his knees just about gave way. He had almost killed someone. He’d almost killed a good friend. Over what?

This incident forced Ben to face his anger head-on. He had to do something about it. He could not handle his temper alone. Ben prayed, “Lord, You have to take this temper from me. If You don’t, I’ll never be free from it. You can change me.”

Back home, Ben locked himself in a bathroom and began reading the book of Proverbs. He read many texts that spoke pointedly about uncontrolled anger and where it leads. The words seemed written just for him. This verse impressed him the most: “He who is slow to anger is better that the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Prov. 16:32).

“The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression” (Prov. 19:11). We become angry when we magnify the errors of others. We become obsessed with what another has done to us. Their actions control us.

This is what happened to Ben. He knew he had to deal with it. Proverbs provided the key. He agreed with the wise man that “wrath is cruel and anger a torrent” (Prov. 27:4), and “he who is slow to anger allays contention” (Prov. 15:18).

These words gave Ben hope, something to aim at. He made a commitment to read the Scriptures each day and gave himself and his problem wholeheartedly to God. A sense of peace replaced Ben’s anguish and panic. As he walked out of that room he felt God had changed him.

God dealt decisively with this young man’s uncontrolled anger. The hands that had once lunged with a knife became the disciplined, skilled hands of a surgeon. Ben Carson became one of America’s respected pediatric neurosurgeons.

God can deal with your anger too, but only if you give it to Him. Is there any anger in your heart? Why not give it to God as you pray today.