The
first step toward forgiveness is to acknowledge feelings of
resentment and hate.
– Healing
of Memories, pg 151
The anger, the resentment, the hate that gets buried deep down inside. Sometimes I ask people when I'm counseling with them, “Would the word rage be too strong?” They often hang their heads and say, “No. That's right.”
The healing
process must include the courage to unmask the anger, bring it out
before God, and put it on the Cross where it belongs. There will be
no healing until it is acknowledged, confronted, and resolved.
Resolution means forgiving every person involved in that hurt and
humiliation; it means surrendering every desire for a vindictive
triumph over that person; it means allowing God's forgiving love to
wash over your guilt-plagued soul.
– Healing
for Damaged Emotions, pp 96-7
– Putting
Away Childish Things, pg 4
Anger at God
Perhaps the most
puzzling and shocking experience of all is when devout Christians
find themselves overrun by feelings of anger against God Himself.
This is terribly hard to admit. I have spent many sessions gently
leading counselees to the place where they finally realize their
resentment against God. The shock has been so great that some have
momentarily passed out in my office, or have become nauseated to the
point of vomiting. For they love God and want to serve and please Him
and are devastated when they discover this submerged anger against
Him.
– Healing
of Memories, pg 92
Anger and Depression
When you
surrender your anger and oversensitivity to injustice and unfairness,
you won't have trouble with self-pity, and your depressions will
lessen immediately.
– Healing
for Damaged Emotions, pg 128
