Anger Management: God's Way

*I wrote this up for a school project last spring, and although some of you may not have read The Bronze Bow, I think that we can all learn this lesson. This is one of my favorite things that I wrote for school all year.*

Anger can be a horrible thing. In the beginning of our book, Daniel really struggled with anger problems and he always let it get the better of him. Proverbs 27:4 says, “Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming...” Daniel’s fury toward the Romans overtook him and he was proud of it. He held on to his anger and he didn’t want to let it go.

It makes me wonder what we are holding on to that we should be letting go. Only too often we hold on to a grudge, or to anger or to jealousy, when we should be lifting them up to Jesus and letting him take them away.

When we are angry or upset, it is easy to get carried away and to say and do things that we don’t mean. The book of Proverbs states in chapter 15 verse 1 that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” We should be careful not to get angry in the first place but to handle our problems with grace.  

When we do get upset, we need to ask forgiveness of both Jesus and the person we hurt. The Lord is always ready and willing to forgive us {“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”} but the person we hurt might still be hurting. You know that the myth “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” is just that, a myth. It’s not true because words can be hurtful.

    At the end of our book, Daniel has learned to trust in Jesus and he takes the first step toward resolving his anger. By inviting a Roman soldier into his house, Daniel shows how much he has grown. I pray that before we finish the next chapter in our lives, we will be able to see how much we have grown too.