In Freedom from Anger Freedom from Angerchallenging. However, home was not a rest—it was into a national conference with 300 people. It‟s not good when your hands are shaking,

Ross Wakeley

Freedom

from Anger

In Freedom from Anger, you‟ll discover:

Signs that anger may be an issue in our life

What happens if anger isn‟t dealt with effectively

Scriptural insights about overcoming anger today

The Pharisee spirit and the Spirit of Jesus

Principles for walking in freedom from anger

How Jesus lived above anger wrecking His life

Living facedown before God as the place of refuge

Practical self-care strategies for freedom from anger

Scripture quotations are taken from

The Holy Bible, New International Version ® Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993-2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group

Photo acknowledgements: Passion of the Christ, R Wakeley.

Copyright © Ross Wakeley 2009

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The emotional, spiritual and physical

demands of the three consecutive events had a twist. I also faced

some serious issues that were challenging. However, home was

not a rest—it was into a national

conference with 300 people.

It‟s not good when your

hands are shaking, chest tight and vocal chords feel

strangled. It can happen when you‟re really angry.

It‟s all happened to me.

Another man had done a fantastic job in preparation,

but I hadn‟t been ready to give him the role emotionally. Early Saturday, I lost it. Blew a fuse! The whole body

shaking, loss of control—it was pathetic. Without seeking to be defensive, it‟s easy—with hindsight—to see the why.

An accumulation of multiple ministry events with a range

of unprocessed issues meant I was a walking time bomb. I exploded, totally unfairly on the conference manager.

It was a new insight into what Paul says in Ephesians 4:26,27—Do not let the sun go down while you are still

angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. I had to deal with my failure and we sorted it out.

In 2007, over a six week period, I‟d been involved in

running healing training in the Philippines and then an Impact Nations compassion trip among the poor with a

team of thirty people. Part of that time we were protected by a heavily armed militia in case we were kidnapped for

ransom. Then we ended the 22 day odyssey with a healing conference in Manila and flew back to Oz for a conference.

Anger affects us emotionally,

physically, spiritually and mentally. Anger stirs up

adrenalin in our body. It‟s vital that chemical is

released or our health will

be negatively affected.

We need to intentionally

release the anger by doing something physical. Walk the

dog around the block. Kick a ball. Play a physical game.

Dig the garden. Doing something positive and practical helps release the stored adrenalin and gets us looking at the beauty

of God‟s creation. Grumpiness shifts to smiles and joy!

Other practical self-care strategies include:

Ensuring we take holidays and regular days off. That

means the mobile goes off. Our security is not in what the boss thinks of us or demands we do. It‟s in how

God sees us and who He says we are.

If we feel we‟re about to „blow a fuse‟, before then, make

a statement: „I need some space. I‟m going for a walk.‟

Don‟t slam the door on the way out. Once outside, flex the muscles to release the tension. Breath deeply.

God didn‟t make us to do life solo. Talk to friends about

what is triggering anger and invite them to speak truth in

to our life and who will support us in living out the Biblical principles in this booklet. We need mates on the journey.

Seeing a Christian counsellor or visit a healing ministry

for God to see some deep releasing work in you.

Time each day in God‟s presence is a life-saver as He will renew our mind, rebuild our spirit and refresh our heart.

4 21

Judgment is held in the mind

and/or spirit towards people who we perceive have hurt

us. This can act to hold us in spiritual chains and acts as a

block to relationships that are real, vulnerable and lifegiving.

Spiritual signs of anger:

Anger that is not dealt with will slowly erode the inner

spirit of joy, peace, love, etc as the focus of our life shifts from Jesus to the object or the person that

triggers our anger.

Our mind assembles a growing collection of things said

and done against us that slowly weigh us down and rob away spiritual freedom and from shifting to a higher

place in God.

Our anger robs us of all that God wants to release into

our spirit, but we have become „polluted‟. Frustrated that God is not „fixing‟ the problem, we pull back from

being in His presence through soaking, worship, reading Scripture, listening to His voice and a hunger

for intimacy with Jesus.

If anger isn‟t effectively resolved:

We give Satan legal right of entry

into our life as we have opened a doorway for him to attack us. Be

self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around

like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 4:8

Our anger can shift to rage, violence or turn inwards to

depression, even suicide—as we either blame ourselves

or we can‟t see an exit route from the situation.

The more we experientially know—not in our mind, but in our

heart, the core of our being—that we are deeply loved by the King, by our friend, the more anger cannot keep a hold on us.

Mostly what God does is

love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love.

Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious

but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get some-

thing from us but to give everything of himself to us.

Ephesians 5:2 (Message)

May Jesus himself and God our

Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of

unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (Message)

This is how God showed

his love for us: God sent his only Son into the

world so we might live through him...If we love

one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his

love becomes complete in us—perfect love…He's

given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit.

Every one who confesses that Jesus is God's Son

participates continuously in an intimate relation-

ship with God. 1 John

4:9, 12-15 (Message)

Better is one day in your courts than a

thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than

dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

6 19

How does anger damage our spirit?

The soul of each person is

made up of our mind, will and emotions—see James 2:26. If

our spirit is crushed, we use our soul to protect the spirit.

We become a captive, when God wants us to be free.

The human spirit may be crushed from abuse, hurt and

betrayal that damages the core of our being. This can result in us having a timid spirit [1 Timothy 1:7]; an overwhelmed

spirit [Psalm 142:3,4] as we feel trapped by people‟s expectations and are unable to be ourself; a defiled spirit

[2 Cor. 7:1]; or a broken spirit [Pro 15:13, Job 17:1].

Emotional life—internal reactions + external behaviour

1. HURT occurs

whenever we are made to feel small,

empty or insecure. We feel a loss of

control over our life.

2. ANGER is the

culturally acceptable way for men to

respond to being hurt. It‟s an attempt

to regain control.

3. RAGE is the

body‟s experience of anger. Adrenalin

floods our system and our body has

physical symptoms.

4. VIOLENCE is a

desperate attempt to regain control

over a situation where the body‟s

rage is vented in

a public way.

As a person acts out this cycle, usually we‟re unwilling to

acknowledge that we are responsible for our behaviour.

The enemy likes to use

anger to have us live in defeat. God is our refuge,

fortress...He is our high place, our secret place

where the enemy cannot touch us. If the enemy

cannot find us, he cannot hurt us. God has provided

a secret place in Him for us that we access by be-

ing face down before Him.

As we‟re facedown before God,

He reveals to us who HE is and WHO we are. Come, let us bow

down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for

he is God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under

his care. Psalm 95:6,7

Dealing with our Anger

God never forces us to deal with our stuff. As we‟re willing,

He‟ll take us on steps in the journey of freedom from anger.

The world‟s way of dealing with anger is to rise in reaction and

aggression. The response of God‟s people is to be radically different to that of our culture. We move to a position of rest

and surrender. We ‟bow down before the Almighty‟. We place no trust in the ‟weapons‟ of self-reliance, fear, anger or our

skills. Our posture is one of resting in God—in His presence, grace, mercy, holy awe and favour. From that position, we

look to God for victory and empowering to live above anger.

8 17

Option One: Spirit of the Pharisee

1. Quick to pick up a rock and pass judgement on another person.

2. Condemn those people who doesn‟t

fit the „box‟ of what‟s acceptable.

3. Take perverse pleasure when another Christian fails and declare, „I told you

so‟ to justify their judgement and condemnation of the person.

4. World events that are disruptive cause the Pharisee spirit

to react in fear, anxiety, criticism. What happens in the natural exposes what is in the heart [see 1 Samuel 16:7].

5. Speak negative words and curses that are released in the spiritual realm and act to crush those spoken against.

6. Tell others to live in righteousness, but fail to live out what is spoken and fail to observe the hypocrisy of either

their attitude or actions [see Matthew 23:27, 28].

Along with Scripture‟s revelation about what anger does in

„the real‟ of every day, each Christian makes choices about our response to situations and people. There are two options:

Option Two:

Spirit of Christ Jesus

1. Choose to not take

offence—„He who is without sin cast

the first stone.‟ [John 7:7]

2. Speak out and release grace, acceptance and freedom that isn‟t framed by compromise. Holy Spirit enables

us to really hear a person who has views that differ from ours. Stay humble.

Easy to say. Hard to live. God invites us look beyond what is

happening in the „now‟ that is triggering our anger and look to Jesus—who He is and what He is doing in His world and in us.

The apostle Paul, who experienced incredible suffering that

would lead any normal bloke to furious anger [2 Corinthians 11:23-28] shares this insight from his life—

We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light

and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is

seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Our life is a journey. A journey of transformation: if we will

allow God to do in us what will set us free and Jesus shines.

I identified myself completely with Jesus...I have been crucified

with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you...Christ lives in

me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by

faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (Message)

The story is told of a man whingeing to God about people who

got him angry. The Lord responded; „Come a little closer‟. As he does, some of the flesh falls off, but he still whinges and

God says, „Come a little closer‟. More flesh falls off. Then he

asks: „Why do you want me to come closer?‟ God says, „I want to see how much like my Son you‟ve become.‟ It‟s our choice.

10 15

God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus and

through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through

his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil

behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ‟s physical

body through death to present you holy in his sight, with out blemish and free from accusation. Colossians 1:19-22

The place of real

exchange is the Cross. We only come

to the Cross from a Spirit given conviction

that we have an issue and that we need to

accept the only real solution:Jesus!

Ongoing transformation comes

from a revolutionary and super- natural work of God’s Spirit in us:

Our thinking radically changing

to become the mind of Jesus—

see Romans 12:1,2.

Living in the security and real

presence of God. In Him, all that is of the world and of our

self is tripped away and we walk in purity and freedom.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom. We...are being transformed into his

likeness with ever-increasing glory. 2 Corinthians 3:17,18

B: Respond to the person

We step back into God‟s love,

hear His voice and refuse to

allow the event to contaminate our spirit or mind.

We invite the Holy Spirit to

do a fresh work in our heart.

To burn out the rubbish, pain and stuff that seeks to

consume us and invite the Spirit to burn in more of Jesus‟

character. We are freer.

We position ourself nearer to

Jesus and hear more of His

voice, have a deeper internal security and stand in heavenly

realm. We refuse to allow life

events to set our agenda. We respond in unselfish love.

What Peter discovered will impact us in dealing with the stuff

that triggers our anger. In life, an event occurs and we can:

A: React to the situation/person

We focus on the event, the hurt,

shame, how we were wronged. Our mind and spirit brood on it

all and are corrupted. Joy goes.

The relationship is poisoned and

we process subsequent events through the lens of anger and hurt.

Our emotional walls go up for self protection. This blocks any healing as it‟s a survival tactic.

We are choosing to not get well. We can shift from anger to rage which as we‟ve seen is self destructive and damages

other relationships that just increases our deep inner pain.

12 13

Amazingly, Jesus not only sees the situation and why the

person is angry. He demonstrated a whole new way of living that gives us hope in rising above our anger. Jesus, this

great High Priest with ready access to God—is not out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and

testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right

up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. Hebrews 4:14-16 [Message]

In our anger, we so easily

become consumed by our pain that we avoid seeing the

person—who is triggering pain for us—with the eyes of Jesus.

God‟s Word is clear that He sees people as we really are.

Jesus said to them, „You are the ones who justify yourselves

in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is

detestable in God‟s sight‟. Luke 16:15 Jesus sees their pain and the reality of why the person is lashing out at others:

seemingly oblivious to the consequences of their actions.

Jesus lived this reality. Look at

His response to Peter. Jesus washes his feet and a few hours

later, that mate „does a runner‟ when the pressure‟s on. If I was

Jesus, I‟d surrender to my anger, sense of betrayal, hurt and pain.

Not Jesus. He rose above His own stuff to see Peter‟s pain and

to understand. Rather than allow His spirit to be full of anger,

Jesus had heaven‟s perspective and sought Peter: grace, love and forgiveness overwhelmed humanity—John 21:15-19.

How did Jesus rise above anger? How did He gain freedom?

There are a range of insights to explore in these questions

and part of the answer has to do with what is „below ground level‟ in Jesus‟ life and compare that to our own life.

Men find it

the hardest to really share

their heart: vulnerability

is risky as the other bloke

may take advantage of

you and so we stick to hiding.

If our core

needs are not met, then

we‟ll do many

things to get them met and

if we fail, anger is an

expression of

our frustration. From an early age, we seek to

have our core needs met, but also seek to be validated by

those who we most value in our life—parents, siblings and peers.

The tension: often we fail to get

that emotional validation. This is a fundamental unmet need by

many people in our culture.

Visible Visible

behaviourbehaviour

20% of 20% of

who we who we

really are really are

CoreCore needsneeds

OurOur valuesvalues andand beliefsbeliefs

What we What we

think think

about about

and how and how

we feelwe feel

To survive, to To survive, to

be esteemed, be esteemed,

respected, respected,

loved, valuedloved, valued

80% of 80% of

who we who we

really really

are is are is

hidden hidden

from from

other other

peoplepeople

11 14

Another factor in freedom from anger is where we choose to

live from. Many live from mind and emotion: Jesus lived from a higher place—He lived from the spiritual realm. He refused to

live under the circumstances. As Jesus was positioned in the Father‟s arms of love and in total surrender, He lived over what

was taking place in the natural realm. Action steps include—

Many Christians were raised in a conservative churches:

we study Scriptures and teaching for our mind. We try to live from these truths of God‟s Word, but often fail.

Jesus lived from His spirit—not the mind. It‟s an intentional

process of daily submission of His life so that His spiritual formation overflowed into everyday life. He lived from spirit

conviction and „knowings‟. When faced with a crisis, He knew in His spirit that Father would supernaturally provide.

We‟ve been robbed by the enemy and

by teaching in the church that has not

taught a supernatural Kingdom ethos or equipped us to live as Jesus did.

Living from the spiritual realm grows as we spend time in

the secret place with God. He activates more living from the spirit. It‟s not a „hope so‟ freedom from anger. It‟s

living from a „know so‟ place in God—Ephesians 2:6

Research says only 5% of Christians know and believe

that God loves them all the time. As we allow God‟s Spirit to take scriptures—Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Corinthians 2:9,

Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 3:1—our internal security shifts up.

Where we are in our spirit is where we live from. It‟s

what we pray into and will dictate how we use our time, our money, our focus and emotional energy.

Where may we find validation for our core needs if we can‟t

find it within the culture? The best option is to run into the arms of the One who truly loves us. The LORD appeared to

us...saying: „I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.‟ Jeremiah 31:3

In the past year, God has „birthed‟ a book that is a powerful resource to bypass the mind and speak to the heart about how

God loves us beyond measure. This book helps to heal hearts.

We rob Satan of his ability to get us consumed by our anger and

spiral into deeper pain when we intentionally rest in our Father. As we spend time in His presence, listen to His voice, enjoy His

unconditional love for us, get lost in worshipping Him and allow the glorious truths and promises of His word to permeate our

heart then we discover that He is re-building us from the inside.

Peter proved this true. As he experienced

being in the presence of Jesus and allowed God‟s Spirit to fill and love him at the core

of his life, Peter discovered that used to make him angry just rolled off. The God of

all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little

while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should

be called children of God! And that is what we are! be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:11 John 3:1

9 16

3. Stand with the person in their failure. The Body of Christ acts

to help, rather than the individual feeling alone and cutoff.

4. World events that are disruptive act as a catalyst to draw

more of the character of Jesus to the surface and we retreat deeper into His presence.

5. Refuse to speak out words that have the effect of crushing another. Choose to use words that are building up and speak

truth in love [see 1 Timothy 4:12, James 1:26].

6. Stand for righteousness with humility. Constantly seek the Spirit‟s empowering to live a righteous lifestyle—humanly we have nothing. Seek forgiveness from those we offend.

In Matthew‟s gospel, Jesus confronts the

„spirit of the Pharisee‟ head on—chapter 23:1-39. Shortly before that, He faced

that spirit and His response is brilliant! One of the Pharisees...tested him with

this question:“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “ „Love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind.‟ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the

second is like it: „Love your neighbour as yourself.‟ All the Law and the Prophets

hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40

If we discover the „spirit of the Pharisee‟ is ensnaring

our life, with anger acting as a trigger to trap us, how do we gain breakthrough and freedom?

He points to the principle of love as the key to breakthrough.

This isn‟t guilt-driven or performance love: it flows from the truth of God‟s love. Jesus lived love and Scripture reveals it.

As we experience Father’s love, the healing journey starts.

It‟s worth noting that as we

invite God to examine us that as our Maker, He also knows

how we are „wired‟ as a factor in anger. Personality and our

reactions to people and life

situations are intertwined. The world has people who are calm

and placid: little troubles them. Others have a personality that

is quickly aroused to either righteous or unrighteous anger

by perceived and real injustice. He perfectly loves who we are.

A mirror is a good place to start in

God setting us free from anger. So easily in our anger we choose to put

ourself in the seat of judgment and say to another person: „You failed

and you are not acceptable!‟ The

mirror asks us to firstly look at self.

2500 years ago, David showed real wisdom by inviting God

to be „a mirror‟ to his life. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is

any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23,24 God hasn‟t changed. As we invite God to

search us totally, there is a safety in that process as He never speaks condemnation or a ‟You‟re not good enough‟ message.

Along with God „checking us over‟, at a wider level, God

is at work in His world. We are not abandoned and Jesus will at times allow stuff to happen to us that we don‟t enjoy

as the primary thing He‟s doing in us is to work on who we are becoming. He is changing our character so we

become more like Jesus.

7 18

Psalm 4:4—In your anger do not sin; when you are on your

beds, search your hearts and be silent.

Psalm 37:8—Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Proverbs 22:24,25—Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered,

or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.

Proverbs 29:11—A fool gives full vent to his anger,

but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Ecclesiastes 7:9—Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Ephesians 4:26, 27—“In your anger do not sin”:

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

James 1:19—Everyone should be quick to listen,

slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Matthew 5:22-24—Jesus said, „I tell you that anyone who

is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment... „If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember

that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to

your brother; then come and offer your gift.‟

Colossians 3:8-10—Now you must rid yourselves of all such

things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips...you have taken off your old self

with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Not surprising, our Creator knows us intimately and provides a

number of insights about anger in Scripture for reflection:

If we are to rise above the anger that threatens to consume

us, then what Paul teaches is an option: they are commands

that acted on will bring life. The choice to refuse to allow

anger to contaminate our spirit is do the one thing that will

set us free: surrender the anger to Jesus at the Cross.

This is an intentional choice that only we can make.

We‟ll often find that we

need to constantly take our anger to the Cross

as the issues in life may trigger the re-fueling of

anger: it intrudes into our mind, spirit and

emotion. The Cross is the place of exchange.

Don't grieve God.

Don't break his heart. His Holy

Spirit, moving and breathing in

you, is the most

intimate part of your life, making

you fit for him self. Don't take

such a gift for granted.

Everything...connected with that old way of life has

to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it!

Go ahead and be angry. You do well

to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't

stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind

of foothold in your life.

Take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life,

a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Be gentle with one another,

sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as

God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:22-32 (Message)

5 20

This chart—based on research—illustrates the journey we

can walk if anger is operating unchecked within us:

“If you judge people you

have no time to love them.”

Mother Theresa

We may also displace our anger into:

Projection of our stuff onto other people—usually this is

onto those we love, as we use them to process our anger.

Destructive behaviour to „soothe‟ the internal pain. This

may be overeating; overuse of coffee, alcohol; addictions like porn; over exercising linked with anorexia or bulimia.

Escapist behaviour to avoid the pain—this includes drugs;

excessive TV or Net use through surfing, blogs and chatrooms; hobbies that get obsessive, etc.

Stress

0 100

Flight or Fight

Problem

to solve

Self protection

Win or

loose

Violence Rage

Distress

The more intense our anger the more we slide into distress

and out of self control. Assess where you are at right now.

50

Rather than allowing anger to be the

dominant reality, God enables us to celebrate life. Invite God‟s spirit to

stimulate our mind, emotions and spirit to a fresh awareness of Father‟s

love so that it keeps being the focus.

Celebrate God all day, every day.

I mean, revel in him!...Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.

Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know

your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything

coming together for good, will come and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at

the centre of your life...You'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic,

compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians

4:4-8 [Message] Such refreshing truth and wisdom for life.

Anger tracks our mind, emotion and spirit on the downhill road

of brooding on the offence as we have been wronged or treated inappropriately. We feel unappreciated or our worth is crushed.

The impact of what was said or done is magnified as we‟re taking our worth from a person‟s view of us. We are looking for

worth from people we value, who we have in the „grandstand‟

of our life. When they don‟t affirm us that stirs up pain and anger.

A major transition occurs when

we give up seeking the praise of man and choose to live for an

audience of one. God is the one who truly validates, loves and

affirms us. His spirit enables us to

progressively shift to this thinking.

3 22

That experience highlighted what lots

of people are dealing with: a whole lot of internalised anger. This issue of

anger is both real and huge. Social researchers like Hugh McKay find that

around the nation, if they just scratch

the surface with people, then „boom‟: people are ready to explode with the

anger that‟s bottled up in them.

Physical signs include:

We want to get away from the situation

Irritated, sad or depressed

Guilty, resentful or anxious

Like striking out verbally or physically

Getting sarcastic

Losing our sense of humor

Negative thinking clutters our mind

Struggle to calm ourself in an argument

Feeling out of control and overwhelmed

Signs that Anger may be an issue in our life—

Clenching the jaws or grinding

of the teeth

Headache or dizziness

Stomach ache, muscles tense

Increased and rapid heart rate

Sweating, especially of palms

Feeling hot in the neck/face

Shaking or trembling

Raising our voice or beginning

to yell, scream or cry

Emotional signs of anger are feeling:

Jesus is the ultimate role model of dealing with anger. He lived

in a realm where He was so immersed in the Father‟s love and voice that it overshadowed

all else so that stuff in the natural realm bounced off

Him and didn‟t get into His mind or spirit. This reality

is seen in how Jesus acted before His arrest. Knowing

the agony of the Cross, Jesus prayed for us. His

thoughts were on you.

„I pray also for those who will believe in me through their

message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that

the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as

we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me

and have loved them even as you have loved me...Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you,

and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in

order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them‟ John 17:20-26

Jesus is with us in the journey of freedom from angerJesus is with us in the journey of freedom from anger