Almost everyone has been in situations where anger seems to take over our lives. Maybe someone has accused you of something that you didn’t do. Perhaps a friend was cruel to your loved one. You might have seen or experienced a cruel injustice that is difficult or impossible to make right.

When we feel anger, it takes over our whole beings. There are physical effects: adrenaline rushes through your body, you want to shout, scream or lash out. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep, and the anger seems to prevent you from focusing on anything other than the source of your rage.

In times like these, it’s often difficult to know what to DO with this strong feeling. How do you manage an emotion that seems to have taken over your life?

The Bible offers some valuable, practical advice on how to approach situations like this. Ultimately, you can turn to God—who continues to love us despite the many things we do to make him angry—to help resolve the anger that you experience.

Here are a few verses that offer guidance when you feel angry.

1. Don’t stay angry all day.
   If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. — Ephesians 4:26 (GNTD)
2. Try to resolve the issue with peace and wisdom.
   If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that ‘every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the scripture says. And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector. -- Matthew 18:15-17 (GNTD)
3. Actively work towards forgiveness and reconciliation.
   So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.— Matthew 5:23, 24 (GNTD)
4. Love as I have loved you.
   And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples. -- John 13:34-35 (GNTD)