“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31)
We’re often slow to admit how angry something or someone has made us. We pretend we’re unbothered. (“Eh, it’s not a big deal.”) But anger that is not acknowledged and released in a godly manner has the power to wound and warp our spirit in an evil way.
It is impossible to go through life without being hurt. Offenses come. People don’t do right by us. Sometimes, we have an open and shut case – we have been a victim of a “crime.” Other times though, we may be “angry without a cause.”
When another repents of their wrong and asks us to forgive them, we can grant them forgiveness, and release them from our anger. But what if they never acknowledge they have sinned against us? What if they haven’t actually done us any wrong, and we’re angry with them over nothing? What if we’ve allowed ourselves to be angry with God? Do we expect Him to apologize to us?
Letting go of all anger cannot be conditioned on anything other than God’s command to do so. God will one day judge the world in righteousness, and according to His truth. Best to let go of all anger toward everyone. God will have enough of it for the unrepentant; and He will reserve some for us if we have held on to our anger, and sought the vengeance which belongs to Him alone.