When the Sun Goes Down on Your Anger
Your Nightly Prayer for Jun 3, 2025
by Peyton Garland
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ‘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.” - Ephesians 4:25-27 (NIV)
SOMETHING TO PONDER
I never wrestled with these verses until I got married, until I quickly learned that the sun would, indeed, go down long before my anger with my husband subsided. Perhaps time would have been more gracious to me if I hadn’t gotten married in February, one of the longest, coldest, darkest months of the year, but regardless of excuses, anger was my ill-fitted, constant companion as he and I adjusted to living together.
Whether he continued throwing his dirty socks beside the hamper instead of in it, or he did something he said he wouldn’t, it didn’t take much for my newlywed emotions to bubble and boil over.
When my heart first recalled this passage in Ephesians, I thought I was supposed to make amends before the sun went down. Somehow, with unrighteous anger still at the helm of my words, I thought I could “fix” whatever argument we were having in that moment. This never worked, especially since my husband is more of the “Let me get some sleep and we’ll revisit this” type of guy. But how could that be the “right” way to handle a disagreement? Weren’t we supposed to resolve things by the end of the day?
If you read Psalm 4:4, it says, “Be angry, but do not sin.” Anger is an emotion; it’s not sin itself. What we do with that anger determines whether it becomes unholy. When we look at our verses in Ephesians in light of this truth, we realize that we can’t let the anger that comes from the enemy dictate how we end our day. When we allow anger that stirs bitterness and vengeance to rule our hearts, we plant seeds of destruction that take root and tempt us to damage our souls, and others, the next day. No matter how much we try to heal an argument, if we are led by unrighteous anger, the situation will only grow worse.
It’s taken over seven years, but I’ve learned in my marriage that not letting the sun go down on my anger looks a lot less like fixing all of life’s problems and more like taking my frustrations and unrighteous anger to God. It looks more like submitting my heart to Him in self-reflection, honesty, and repentance.
When I let my anger turn me to God instead of my sinful tendencies, I’m able to confess my faults, receive wisdom for the stressful situation at hand, and enter the next day with a peaceful resolve to honor God in all that I do.
Anger, in God’s hands, can become part of the solution. Use your anger wisely.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father,
It’s so easy to allow my anger to turn into sin, and it’s easy for pride to convince me that I can fix all of life’s problems when my frustrations aren’t in check. Grant me your wisdom, discernment, and grace to not only recognize when I am angry, but to keep that anger from being manipulated by the enemy. Help me recognize where bitterness and vengeance have crept in, and allow me to be humble enough to come to you at the end of the day to self-reflect and repent. May the sunset be my reminder that I can’t fix all life’s problems, but that your mercy is waiting for me, ready to heal my today and offer hope for my tomorrow.
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Which people or circumstances tend to ignite your anger? Why?
2. Once you become angry, what is your initial response to the emotion? Is it vengeance? Bitterness? Stress? Prayer?
3. How can you allow anger to draw you towards self-reflection and God’s grace?
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/AtarzynaBialasiewicz
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Originally published Tuesday, 03 June 2025.
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