Anger is a Sign That Something Needs to Change

A lot of us think we aren’t angry people, but there’s more to what anger looks like and how it affects us than we realize. It’s said that anger is a secondary emotion, an indicator of something deeper that’s going on, but it’s not a strategy for lasting change. It has to lead you somewhere better.

They’re telling you something, and you should listen to them, but how to act in the moment probably isn’t what they are telling you.

Numbers 20
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

Miriam was Moses’ sister, so his world is rocked. At this point, people had been wandering the desert for 40 years because they did not believe God’s promises. This is the second time the people had been to Meribah. The first was a year or two before, in an account we see in Exodus 17.

And there is no provision, again! God had provided in the past, but the same constant uncertainty continues, and it’s exhausting. Taking one step of faith can be hard, these people have had to do multiple. Two years later, not only have the people had enough, but Moses has had enough too.

Numbers 20
10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.

Anger will invite you to try to become god in a situation where God needs to be God
Anger begins with feeling a loss of control that leads to frustration and then reaction. There’s a point at which things or your expectations need to change. The last time, they also got water from the rock, and God commanded Moses to strike the rock only once, that time.

God used the rock as a sign – to point to the Messiah who was to come.

1 Corinthians 10
4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

That first striking was symbolic foreshadowing of Jesus’ death. God’s purpose was that there was only one striking of the rock to foreshadow what was to come.

There’s the thing we think our circumstances or what we’re facing is about, but God is at work in a completely different way – a bigger one that we may not even understand yet, or ever. That takes faith! This perspective reminds us that God is in control, while anger is always a level of perception in which we’ve lost control.

Our need for control assumes that no one else is in control or that the one in control can’t be trusted with the situation. There may be something that God is calling you to right now that doesn’t make a lot of sense.

There can be long-term consequences to your short-term reactions
Moses came seeking an answer, and God gave one. Speak to the rock, not strike. But Moses does something else instead. He speaks to the people in a way that causes a loss of respect for himself, because they look to him not to be like them and to lead them somewhere better.

People are looking to you. Your family, friends, neighbors, or kids. And they’re looking to us to respond differently from how others have. We’ve all said something in anger, and we know the instant it comes out, it was the wrong thing to do. It feels so good to shout those words or slam that thing down, and it’s a release, but the wrong one. In the moment, it feels justified, but then the consequences hit.

Numbers 20
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Because of this seemingly small thing, there’s a big consequence for Moses and Aaron. They don’t get to enter the land.

Anger is created by God as part of our humanity, and it can be good. But that depends on what we do with it, where we channel it, whether we let it in the driver’s seat.

Anger is an opportunity
Anger is a sign that something needs to change, an opportunity to reflect on ourselves to determine whether we need to change, and a powerful motivator to see things change.

Some of the greatest movements against injustice have started with anger. Some of the greatest changes we can make in our own lives begin here, too. But they can’t end there.
For us, it’s an opportunity to respond differently, redemptively. Anger has power, and it can be used for good or bad.

• Anger is a secondary emotion – Why are we angry? When we get angry, we need to take a step back and figure out what’s really going on.
• Anger needs proper release – You need to let it go the right way, otherwise, it will mess you or others up. It can cause you to sin.

But remember, this is not all on you.

Water still comes from the rock. He still provides. And we don’t do this alone on our own strength. When we take a step in God’s direction, He meets us so much more than halfway with both His presence and power.