God is in the business of restoring and maintaining good relationships. And there is a scripture in the Word of God for whenever you need to experience the peace that Jesus came to give you. Therefore, there are times that you have to put away strong emotional feelings such as wrath. Then allow the Word of God to well up inside of you and deal with the situation in a godly manner.
Wrath is violent anger and rage. See, it's one thing to have that strong feeling of displeasure, it's another thing to allow it to get to the place where you become filled with rage and violence.
Now we live in a violent society today because there's been very little ministry on the subject of anger and love. People have gotten away from love, thinking that love displays weakness.
Love does not display weakness. Love displays strength.
Anger displays weakness. He said "put away wrath." See, wrath is violent anger. Wrath is anger that has been bottled up over a long time. Not dealt with properly, it can bubble up and explode. The result is some kind of violent act, possibly even a crime.
And everyone else is wondering, "What happened? I didn't think he'd ever do anything like that." The individual who explodes like that is someone who has never gotten rid of that root of bitterness. They never dealt with the issue; but swept it under the rug thinking it would go away.
The way to deal with anger is to turn it over to the Lord. The Lord will then tell you what to do about it. One way of turning it over to the Lord is to find scripture that apply to that situation. There is something in the Word of God for everything that happens in life. Then act on the Word of God.
Notice that I didn't say that you will feel like acting on the Word of God. You are not a feeling. You are a spirit being, created in the image and likeness of God. You may not feel like it at all. But, if you go on and do what the Word says, the feelings will follow.
Scripture References: Proverbs 15:1,18; 19:11; 21:14
Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).
