By
Cathy Fenton

Eph.4:26-27(NIV)

“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”

Eph.4:26-27(The Message)

“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.”

ANGER—the feeling one has toward something that
hurts, opposes, offends or annoys; strong displeasure; wrath.

FOOTHOLD—place to put a foot; support for the
feet; surface to stand on; a firm footing or position.

I now understand what it means to not sin in your
anger and not let the sun go down on your anger and don’t give the devil a
foothold. I did exactly all of the things that God’s Word tells me not to do
when my mom died. I was very angry with God for taking her away from me. I
couldn’t understand why after all those years that she stayed with my dad, who
was an alcoholic, that God took her only four months after my dad died.

“In your anger do not sin,” yeah I understand that.

I was angry and I committed one sin after another. I
knew the things I was doing were wrong and against God, not to mention my
family and others around me who had to witness the anger, the rage, and the
whole ugliness of my behavior. And, I didn’t care. It was a very scary and
haughty attitude on my part.

I was so hurt and angry, nothing mattered and
nothing made any sense. I felt empty, abandoned, numb and very guilty and
ashamed.

I let the sun go down on my anger night after night,
month after month, year after year. I was stubborn and rebellious and I let the
devil have more than a foothold, I was helping him build a house. I wasted many
years thinking I would teach God a lesson. How
arrogant of me to think that I could teach God anything.

But, I was His child and He never gave up on me.
Thank God! He was always there, waiting patiently with His arms wide open and
just watching, with pain and love in His eyes. I knew He was there, I could
feel Him, but I chose to ignore Him, to punish Him with my silence or my bitter
outbursts because I knew He was listening. He never left me, never stopped
loving me. Jesus just kept calling me even though I ignored Him.

Foothold, yes I built a nice platform for the devil
to stand. I spent many unhappy years being angry. I tried to find things that
would ease the pain of losing my mother. Drinking, partying, putting myself
into situations I should never have put myself in. I allowed myself to be mistreated,
I gave in to depression, bitterness, rage, and you name it. I had no self
esteem or respect for myself. The whole time, the answer to all my pain was
right beside me. All I had to do was turn to Jesus and to let Him comfort me
and ease my pain. He would have gladly taken it from me and replaced it with
joy and peace. All I had to do was accept His love and forgiveness.

You see, God understands the loss of a loved one.
His Son died on the cross for the sins of others. Jesus knows and understands
the pain of being beaten. He didn’t do anything to deserve the beating that He
got. He knows the pain of being rejected, even by some of His own family.

There is nothing that your have been through or that
you are going through right now that Jesus doesn’t understand.

If you have never given your life to Him, trust Him
with it right now. Don’t let another day, another minute, or another second go
by without Jesus in it.

If you have trusted Jesus before, but you have
allowed anger, bitterness, un-forgiveness, whatever foothold to get between you
and Him, you can change that right now.

He is waiting with open arms, He’s calling you. Let
Jesus love you, comfort you, ease your pain and forgive you. He is waiting for
you to ask.

 

Who are you really angry with?

Are you angry with God? A family member? Yourself?

Does the devil have a foothold on your life?

What needs to change in your life right now, today?

Is there someone you need to forgive?

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O Go, 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.

Other reading: Psalm 40