22/05/2026
*YOU CAN MAKE IT DEVOTIONAL*
Rev. Gloria Mokungah
22nd May 2026
*DEALING WITH ANGER II*
James 1:19-20
_“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”_
What is anger? Unless we understand anger and how it works, we will have a harder time dealing with the problem.
Proverb 29:22 “An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin”.
The first thing to understand about anger is that it is an actual response. When you are angry your body responds. Why does your body do this? To prepare you for action.
The second thing you need to know about anger is that anger is a secondary emotion. Anger is never the real problem. It’s usually a response to something else.
So what are the various triggers that can set off anger? It usually comes down to these main three: Hurt, Frustration and Fear.
First of all, Hurt. We see a good example of this with Cain and Abel in the bible.
Read Genesis 4:5-6 Why did Cain get angry and murder his brother? Because his offering was not accepted and he responded in anger.
The second trigger is that of Frustration. Whenever we run into unmet expectations or a loss of control we often respond with anger.
We see an example in 2Kings 2:11-12 “As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress”.
We read also the story of Naaman. A Syrian who went to Elisha for healing. Elisha told him to go wash in the Jordan river but Naaman went away angry and said I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord, wave his hand all over the spot and cure me.
What made Naaman angry? unmet expectations. He expected Elisha to do one thing and Elisha did another. He was angry because Elisha didn’t do what he expected him to do.
Fear: this is another trigger. Anytime you are startled or feel threatened you will often respond in anger.
A good example of fear leading to anger is 1Samuel 18:7-12. This was their song: "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousand!" This made Saul very angry. "What's this?" he said. "They credit David with ten thousand and me with only thousands. Next they'll be making him their king!" So, from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice. Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle”.
The story of king Saul in the Old Testament when David killed Goliath, the women came out and danced in the streets. As the women sang. Saul was very angry. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul. Saul felt threatened by David and he responded in anger.
Anger is a secondary emotion. So when you are angry you need to stop and ask yourself “why am I angry? Am I hurt, frustrated or afraid? Once you understand that anger is a secondary emotion you can begin dealing with the actual problem.
_You can make it!_
