September 17, 2026

Today’s subject is anger. Contrary to what many of us believe, giving in to anger is not a sign of strength. It does not make us look strong or put together. Instead, it reveals weakness and immaturity. When we control our anger, we show strength and growth.

Proverbs 29:11 ERV says, “Fools are quick to express their anger, but wise people are patient and control themselves.” A fool allows anger to take control, but a wise person demonstrates strength through patience and self-control.

Proverbs 25:28 ERV says, “People who cannot control themselves are like cities without walls to protect them.” A city without walls is weak, vulnerable, and open to attack. In the same way, when we cannot control our anger, we leave ourselves spiritually and emotionally unprotected.

Remember the whole armor of God? The enemy wants us to be angry. He throws fiery darts at us daily, so we must put on our armor daily. If we cannot control our anger, we give the enemy an opportunity to turn small situations into big problems.

Anger can make us focus on everything that is wrong, everything that is making us mad, and everything we are lacking instead of focusing on how blessed we are. When we give in to anger, we can also become focused on ourselves, our desires, our comfort, and our happiness instead of the needs of others.

Anger can lead us into sin. We may become angry, but we must not nurture that anger. Holding on to it can affect our thoughts, change our mood, turn a good day into a bad day, and damage our relationships. We must learn to give our anger to God and ask Him to help us handle the situation correctly.

However, there is also righteous anger. We should become angry about things that oppose God’s purposes, not simply things that interfere with our preferences. We should be angry about sin, injustice, poverty, hunger, and other things that harm people—and then do something to help make those things right.

Jesus demonstrated righteous anger during His life on earth. He became angry when He saw sin, injustice, and wrongdoing. However, His anger was righteous, and He responded by doing what was right.

We also see righteous anger in Exodus 32. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the Israelites worshiping the golden calf, he became extremely angry. His anger was directed at their sin and disobedience toward God. Yet, despite being angry about what they were doing, Moses pleaded with God on their behalf and asked Him to forgive them.

That is how healthy, righteous anger works. We do not take our anger out on people by lashing out or treating them poorly. We stand against what is wrong and try to make it right. That is the kind of anger that can bring good, heavenly change.

As I pondered what to discuss today, I kept thinking about how angry I had been all day. I could not even focus on what to write, so I prayed and asked God to help me deal with my anger.

He led me to a lesson on the YouVersion Bible app. I read through several devotions and gathered information to help myself while also sharing what I learned with the Daily Bread community. This helped me focus on something other than what had made me angry.

I had awakened angry because my husband unintentionally disturbed my sleep. Throughout the day, I kept thinking about how angry I was with him. Then I began thinking about other things he had done that upset me. Soon, I was all in my head, allowing one angry thought to lead to another.

Even though I had put on my armor, it was not on properly. I had prayed and completed my devotion while still holding unforgiveness in my heart. That was like wearing faulty equipment.

The Bible says, “When you are praying and you remember that you are angry with another person about something, forgive that person. Forgive them so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.”

Mark 11:25 ERV

I had allowed anger to control my emotions. Fortunately, I recognized the damage that anger could cause and knew not to share my thoughts until I was in a better headspace.

The enemy did not win. He only succeeded in temporarily disrupting my peace. Spending time in God’s Word and preparing this lesson helped me recognize what was happening and change my focus.

Let us not allow anger to control our lives or emotions. Instead, let us pray and ask God for the wisdom to handle whatever is making us angry. May we always find a way to use righteous anger to bring heavenly change to the world around us.