Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret - it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
NKJV

David's fifth DON'T in Psalm 37 is that we must cease from anger.
He advises us in Psalm 4 and in Psalm 46, that instead of sinning when we are angry, we should instead get into a quiet place and consider soberly the power and might of our God. Added to that we need to know that if we allow our anger to take us over, we will probably nullify the work God has put in on our situation thus far.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 4:
26 And "don't sin by letting anger control you."
Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
NLT

Here we learn two new truths about anger.
First, it is possible to be angry and yet not to allow anger to take us over and control us.
Secondly, we learn that if our anger is allowed to take us over, we are in fact giving a great foothold in our lives to the devil, our enemy and God's enemy. The result of giving the devil a foothold in us is that he leads only to one destination: destruction.

What is a foothold?
It's like when someone cannot get into your room merely by knocking at your door.
So they say something that will provoke you to come to the door to answer them. When you open the door to answer, they stick their foot in the doorway which means that you can no longer close the door to them.
You are defeated.

Anger is the provoking agent the devil uses to gain a foothold into our lives and turn us into the path of destruction.
However, the Apostle Paul advises us that the way to defeat him is not to open the door of our life to him: not to let the sun go down while we are still angry.
In other words, deal with the reason why you are angry on the day that you get angry. If you don't, you're putting your soul in danger and you are shifting the focus and vision of your life away from God and onto something very much beneath God.

Is it worth it to allow your anger to explode and to give your enemy a foothold into your life by harbouring your anger overnight?
It is always better to take God's alternative and save our soul from destruction.

Prayer:
Father, forgive me for giving a foothold to the devil so often in my life so far.
Now that I understand your way of handling my anger, help me to put it into practise, in Jesus' name,
Amen.