Patti Burris

Ephesians 4:26-27

26 “In your anger do not sin”. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Anger has been an ongoing emotion for me in the last few weeks. It has been very difficult for me to bite my tongue and not say something damaging and hurtful in defense of my daughter.

Without going into specifics (that is not the point of this post), I can tell you that my daughter has been under attack from people, who have for some reason decided to hurt her. My daughter is 20 years old and so I have tried to step back and let her handle the situation. It hasn’t been easy for me. Any one who knows me, knows that I have had some anger issues when it comes to my kids and those I love. This isn’t anything that I am proud of, I am simply telling you this to say that I think God is changing me. I have not flipped out like the old me would have done. I have found comfort under the wings of my Lord and protector.

It has been stressful. I feel her pain and it breaks my heart, because I feel so helpless. I have raged against the hateful, insensitive way that people can treat other people. I have raged inwardly against these people who find it funny to bully my 20 year old daughter who is sweet and loving and would never hurt anyone.

God has been speaking to me through this situation. George Verwer (founder of Operation Mobilization) visited my church this past weekend and what he said Sunday morning really touched me. He said that he has made a practice of not letting the sun go down on his anger. He, also said that, he never let the sun go down without forgiving those who had harmed him that day. I knew that he was speaking to me.

The other part of the passage in Ephesians 4 says, “in your anger do not sin”. I admit that I have come close. What stops me is this overwhelming feeling of not wanting to disappoint God. I want to glorify God. I do not want to open the door for Satan to step in. I do not want to give Satan a foothold in my life.

This situation has led to the establishment of a new bedtime ritual:

1. Surrendering the anger- Every evening I say a prayer, letting go of any anger that I have built up against anyone during the day. I voice it and surrender it.

2. Forgiving- In that evening prayer, I forgive anyone who has hurt me in any way during the day. Even when that means forgiving the same person, day after day after day.

During the day, when that feeling of anger comes poking its’ head around, I try to surrender the anger immediately. I say try, because I am not always successful. Sometimes I fail miserably! But, I try. I surrender the anger and make a decision to act in a way that will bring honor to my heavenly Father.

If you are dealing with anger, you are not alone! Anger is an emotion we all feel at one time or another. It is a part of life in this fallen world. Acknowledge the feeling and let it go. Make that commitment to act with integrity, no matter what the situation. If you need some encouragement, contact me. God loves you, single mom, and so do I!