Smile Through Anger

Scripture: Psalm 4

Key Verse: Psalm 4:4 (NLT)

If we all are really honest, we can easily admit that we’ve been mad about something at some point. The anger could be a childhood memory or something more recent, but anger is a common emotion. God acknowledges that we get upset. He understands that life has its trials and tribulations, but what He wants us to remember is that just because we are angry doesn’t mean we get to sin.

In Psalm 4, we see David pleading to God for a response to His prayer. He desperately wants God’s attention, so that he can have peace in his life (v.1). He prays with a deep zeal to allow for God’s greater power. He recognizes that only God has the power to free him from all that he is currently experiencing. We must have this same mentality because people will speak poorly about us and lie on us (v.2). They will try to discourage us, but we must have faith that God will see us through until the very end (v.3). God has a plan for everyone’s life even if it isn’t always clear to us. The important thing is to be patient.

During my high school career, I spent a lot of nights angry, because so many people said that I wouldn’t graduate or doubted that I would make it very far because of my environment. People made assumptions about who I was before ever really getting to know me. I wanted to yell at those people and speak badly about them too. I wanted them to feel the pain I felt when they said such mean things. If I’m being transparent, there are some people who I may have said some rude things too out of anger. However, after calming down, I usually apologized for my actions. Prior to graduating, God showed me how to redirect my anger. I would sing and dance alone in my room with so much passion that I would feel exceedingly better. This alone time allowed me to learn to trust God to fight my battles (v.4). It was important that I didn’t go to bed without addressing my emotions because that would make me form a grudge towards them. Now as a junior in college, I rely more on God to take people in and out of my life because only He knows what is best for me. Sometimes those changes He makes for me or that I make after meditating on His word hurts because there are some people I really want to keep forever and there are some actions that make me comfortable. But I know that God is the only consistent person who can bring incomparable comfort that I will have forever. I give Him my time, and He gives me the peace I desperately desire (v.5).

People around you will still question the circumstances, but we must pray for them (v.6). They will not understand why you still tell them to have a good day even though they constantly ignore you. They will not understand why you offer to help them carry things when they usually let the door close on you. They will not understand why you continue to check on them even though they never initiate the conversation. More importantly, they will not understand that your joy is not rooted in material things (v.7). It comes from a greater power source. The Bible reminds us in Isaiah 54:17 that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” This means that the words people say against us and the actions they perform (intentionally and unintentionally) will not kill us because God is constantly protecting us. We must not allow our emotions to stand in the way of our blessings. We have to look to God for our peace and protection (v.8).

Prayer: Lord thank you for helping me to deal with my anger. Thank you for reminding me that I can find joy in you no matter what the world throws my way. Lord, I thank you for your peace and protection that covers me at all times. Lord, please forgive me for all the times I sinned out of anger. I pray that you allow me to go back to all those that I have wronged and ask their forgiveness. I can’t fight these battles without you God. I thank you and praise you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.