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31-Day Devotionals for Life
Anger: Calming Your Heart
Anger is arguably the most common problematic emotion we feel. It permeates our lives and hurts our most intimate relationships. Fortunately, Scripture has much to teach us about this universal problem. In this month-long devotional, counselor Robert Jones teaches you where your anger comes from, how to take it to God and deal with the underlying desires that cause it, and how to respond in Christlike ways to the situations that provoke it in you. Daily reflection questions and practical action steps show you specific godly behaviors that can replace your anger. In the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series, biblical counselors and Bible teachers guide you through Scripture passages that speak to specific situations or struggles, helping you to apply God’s Word to your life in practical ways day after day.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2019
61 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Robert D. Jones
13 books11 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Robert D. Jones (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) serves as a biblical counseling professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a certified biblical counselor, a Christian conciliator, an adjunct instructor, and a church reconciliation trainer with Peacemaker Ministries. Jones is the author of Uprooting Anger and has written numerous ministry booklets and articles.
Robert D. Jones (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) serves as a biblical counseling professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a certified biblical counselor, a Christian conciliator, an adjunct instructor, and a church reconciliation trainer with Peacemaker Ministries. Jones is the author of Uprooting Anger and has written numerous ministry booklets and articles.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 28, 2022
Excellent devotional that delves deep into the recesses of our hearts to dig out anger lurking and rotting beneath the surface in small bite-sized 2 pages for each day.
5/5 🌟 and want (and need) to reread!
5/5 🌟 and want (and need) to reread!
March 8, 2023
Concise and rooted in Scripture.
April 1, 2023
This series of devotionals is excellent. Each one I have used has been the right words according to the need.
May 9, 2019
Robert D. Jones has written yet another incisive book that I wish I didn’t need so much.
Anger: Calming Your Heart is the newest installment in the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series which is shaping up to be one of the most helpful set of resources out there today providing biblical counsel for life change. This one in particular is really good.
They picked the right guy to help readers deal with their anger. Bob is an expert. I was an early admirer of his first book on anger (Uprooting Anger, 2006), and this one contains that same wisdom now distilled into short readings that get right to the heart of the matter and then move quickly into practical application to help you change. Don’t be fooled by the brevity. There is a lot of gold buried in them thar hills.
The greatest strength of Anger: Calming Your Heart is the biblical precision with which Bob treats his subject. Bob cuts through the cultural fog that surrounds this topic with clear definitions and biblical nuance. He knows what anger truly is, where it goes wrong, and what we are supposed to do about it.
My favorite aspect of the book is that Bob presents multiple godly alternatives to sinful anger. He doesn’t just urge repentance but also shows us the many righteous routes we can take instead. There is a whole week of readings that start “Don’t Get Mad; Get ___________!” I really needed those.
I also dog-eared several entries on righteous anger which was exemplified by Jesus Christ. Bob calls Him, “The Perfectly Angry Man.” By comparing my anger to Jesus’ anger, I was better able to assess how often my heart and ways are so often skewed in the wrong directions and proportions. My anger does not measure up. Thankfully, Bob shares that the same Person Who is my perfect example is also my sacrificial Savior who provides the pardon for my sinful anger.
At times, this book doesn’t always feel “devotional.” My friend Bob is a teacher at heart, and while each chapter is eminently practical, it is not always as warm and welcoming as I would have preferred. Of course, I don’t always need “warm and welcoming” as much as I need “incisive and transformative.” Bob certainly does not see himself as above the reader and often turns the illustrative spotlight back onto himself revealing his own failures and room for growth. Bob knows that we must deal with our anger, so he does not coddle.
Bob has been a mentor in ministry for me now for two decades, and this book reminds me why. It is brimming with concise, precise, and incisive wisdom for a problem we all have. I will be giving it out to others liberally and returning to it again and again.
Anger: Calming Your Heart is the newest installment in the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series which is shaping up to be one of the most helpful set of resources out there today providing biblical counsel for life change. This one in particular is really good.
They picked the right guy to help readers deal with their anger. Bob is an expert. I was an early admirer of his first book on anger (Uprooting Anger, 2006), and this one contains that same wisdom now distilled into short readings that get right to the heart of the matter and then move quickly into practical application to help you change. Don’t be fooled by the brevity. There is a lot of gold buried in them thar hills.
The greatest strength of Anger: Calming Your Heart is the biblical precision with which Bob treats his subject. Bob cuts through the cultural fog that surrounds this topic with clear definitions and biblical nuance. He knows what anger truly is, where it goes wrong, and what we are supposed to do about it.
My favorite aspect of the book is that Bob presents multiple godly alternatives to sinful anger. He doesn’t just urge repentance but also shows us the many righteous routes we can take instead. There is a whole week of readings that start “Don’t Get Mad; Get ___________!” I really needed those.
I also dog-eared several entries on righteous anger which was exemplified by Jesus Christ. Bob calls Him, “The Perfectly Angry Man.” By comparing my anger to Jesus’ anger, I was better able to assess how often my heart and ways are so often skewed in the wrong directions and proportions. My anger does not measure up. Thankfully, Bob shares that the same Person Who is my perfect example is also my sacrificial Savior who provides the pardon for my sinful anger.
At times, this book doesn’t always feel “devotional.” My friend Bob is a teacher at heart, and while each chapter is eminently practical, it is not always as warm and welcoming as I would have preferred. Of course, I don’t always need “warm and welcoming” as much as I need “incisive and transformative.” Bob certainly does not see himself as above the reader and often turns the illustrative spotlight back onto himself revealing his own failures and room for growth. Bob knows that we must deal with our anger, so he does not coddle.
Bob has been a mentor in ministry for me now for two decades, and this book reminds me why. It is brimming with concise, precise, and incisive wisdom for a problem we all have. I will be giving it out to others liberally and returning to it again and again.
November 14, 2024
Great book on helping making progress with anger! I went through this book with someone who asked for a resource and God used it to help both of us tremendously. This is Scripturally based and doesn’t twist Scripture to make their point like some devotional do.
Really practical, brutally honest about sin, and a good book for tools no matter how little or how much you think you struggle with anger.
Really practical, brutally honest about sin, and a good book for tools no matter how little or how much you think you struggle with anger.
February 20, 2024
A well-structured tour through topics related to anger. While it is a thoroughly Scriptural book, its best parts are where Jones flips common phrases or ideas on their heads and rhetorically punts them back to the reader. Example:
Have you ever aimed angry words at someone else? Perhaps you justified it in your mind: "I just have to get something off my chest." Whose chest do you most care about?
Have you ever aimed angry words at someone else? Perhaps you justified it in your mind: "I just have to get something off my chest." Whose chest do you most care about?
August 1, 2024
Excellent bite-size daily readings that summarize aspects of human anger (both godly and sinful) with memorable aids and practical tips for daily living as the reader works to put this sin to death. A lot of the content is adapted from Jones’s larger book Uprooting Anger (also a great resource), but I didn’t feel like I was just reading that book again. The elements were the same, but the style was updated well for this devotional format.
April 21, 2020
The benefit from this book (and this series I’m guessing) comes as you actively reflect and put the action steps into practice. It’s about being a doer of the word! Great resource to help you identify and work through your sinful anger so that you can please God with your tongue.
December 17, 2020
Did this with a small group
I meet with a small group weekly via Zoom. We walked through this doing 2 or 3 days each week we met. I like doing it in a group because of the interaction and transparency in our personal examples but this would also be very good to do on your own.
I meet with a small group weekly via Zoom. We walked through this doing 2 or 3 days each week we met. I like doing it in a group because of the interaction and transparency in our personal examples but this would also be very good to do on your own.
September 22, 2021
Excellent devotional on anger-it’s biblical definition and how to overcome it by God’s grace. Every day was great and had something helpful in it, but I found days 16 (Playing God) and 30 (Don’t Blame God: Learn to Lament) particularly helpful.
October 16, 2021
Excellent devotional. While I read it straight thru for counseling purposes and to know if I should recommend it, I will definitely use this for my own personal use to deal with my own anger on things.
February 28, 2025
short but Good
This book is a helpful guide for those struggling with anger, as well as for everyone else. Purchase it, read it, and apply its lessons. You will be happier, and those around you will feel the positive effects too.
This book is a helpful guide for those struggling with anger, as well as for everyone else. Purchase it, read it, and apply its lessons. You will be happier, and those around you will feel the positive effects too.
June 1, 2020
Great resource.
September 8, 2020
Fighting Anger Biblically
This is a practical guide to understanding anger, where it comes from, and how to use Biblical principles to rid it from your life.
This is a practical guide to understanding anger, where it comes from, and how to use Biblical principles to rid it from your life.
March 5, 2022
Helpful and thought provoking.
May 1, 2022
Very Intuitive and Insightful Author
Will help you recall concepts you know, learn ones you don't and open your eyes to the root causes and solutions to your anger. Nicely written.
Will help you recall concepts you know, learn ones you don't and open your eyes to the root causes and solutions to your anger. Nicely written.
December 7, 2022
Great biblical resource on anger and the heart. Devotions are two pages each day. Everyone could benefit from reading this short book.
March 20, 2023
One Thing: Defeat your anger not because it avoids health or relationship issues but because your anger offends your God.
June 2, 2023
Helpful and practical.
February 5, 2024
A good practical resource for understanding what anger is, and how to biblically deal with it.
October 18, 2024
28 million stars.
October 14, 2025
I couldn't recommend this enough even if you don't struggle with anger!
October 16, 2024
Struggling with anger is a very human thing. The problem is that our anger tends to be unrighteous. In this devotional, Jones explores anger from a biblical point of view, covering both unrighteous anger and how to deal with it, as well as righteous anger and what to do about it. This devotional is a very good place to start looking at your self and your own anger. Clear and concise, this book is divided into bite sized-pieces that you can read and think about with some of the discussion questions. If you struggle with anger, or even if you don't, this book will give you a different perspective on anger.
September 18, 2019
You can read my fuller review at Spoiled Milks (8/16/19).
Jones doesn’t write this devotional with the expectation that you will be immediately changed, and neither should you read it with that goal. What lies behind anger is your problem with God, that he isn’t doing anything about your situation, and that his position of power isn’t yours. Your anger came about over time, and it won’t be fixed in a few weeks.
Jones has been a biblical counselor for thirty years, and he has written a book on anger. Those two help make this a solid, well-thought, nuanced devotional. You don’t get simplistic advice. Things don’t make us angry. When things don’t go our way, they help us reveal that we are angry. Our inner desires come out through our words, tones, and actions and show that we are angry. Our anger “comes from the desires that battle within us” (45). Why do you get angry? You don’t get what you want.
Jones then encourages you to figure out what lies you believe. What are your desires, and why do you become angry when they aren’t met? In what ways do you think the world revolves around you?
How do you respond when you don’t get what you want, even if it is a good thing? (1) Do you obsess over it? (2) Do you manipulate or “guilt” someone in order to get it? (3) Do you pull away from or attack the person who won’t give in? What do you pray for?
Jones finishes the month on what to do when you are angry with yourself, angry at God, how to lament well, and he gives a plea to parents to deal with their anger so that children will not suffer under it.
This book is an excellent book. I can tell Jones has thought deeply about this subject. Think through what triggers you, and work on your anger in God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power. What you are looking for is a decreased frequency of angry feelings, a decreased intensity in how it is expressed, a decreased duration of episodes, and a decrease in the types of occasions (the different ways you are triggered).
Jones doesn’t write this devotional with the expectation that you will be immediately changed, and neither should you read it with that goal. What lies behind anger is your problem with God, that he isn’t doing anything about your situation, and that his position of power isn’t yours. Your anger came about over time, and it won’t be fixed in a few weeks.
Jones has been a biblical counselor for thirty years, and he has written a book on anger. Those two help make this a solid, well-thought, nuanced devotional. You don’t get simplistic advice. Things don’t make us angry. When things don’t go our way, they help us reveal that we are angry. Our inner desires come out through our words, tones, and actions and show that we are angry. Our anger “comes from the desires that battle within us” (45). Why do you get angry? You don’t get what you want.
Jones then encourages you to figure out what lies you believe. What are your desires, and why do you become angry when they aren’t met? In what ways do you think the world revolves around you?
How do you respond when you don’t get what you want, even if it is a good thing? (1) Do you obsess over it? (2) Do you manipulate or “guilt” someone in order to get it? (3) Do you pull away from or attack the person who won’t give in? What do you pray for?
Jones finishes the month on what to do when you are angry with yourself, angry at God, how to lament well, and he gives a plea to parents to deal with their anger so that children will not suffer under it.
This book is an excellent book. I can tell Jones has thought deeply about this subject. Think through what triggers you, and work on your anger in God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power. What you are looking for is a decreased frequency of angry feelings, a decreased intensity in how it is expressed, a decreased duration of episodes, and a decrease in the types of occasions (the different ways you are triggered).
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews