When Anger is Just Sadness

I remember hearing that anger is just sadness. I think that's true. When I start to look my anger in the face, it looked a lot like sadness.

Anytime I have ever been angry, really, there's been a deeper sadness in me about something. Inevitably, the tears come days later, and God reveals what is saddening me. 

Usually it's a wound or something broken. Something I wish was healed. Something I feel abandoned by God with. Something I wish would have gone a different direction. Some deep yearning or dream inside that goes unfulfilled. Some relationship I valued that goes unreconciled or left in the dust.

There's a lot of anger in the world right now, which I think mostly means that there's a lot of sadness, trauma, hurt, and grief. There's a lot of relationships hurting. There's a lot of brokennness underneath the surface. There's a lot of dreams dying. There's a lot of yearnings going unmet.

Job is a great example of this truth: Job gets angry at God, but really, Job is grieving his losses. Job doesn't understand God's bigger picture. He can't see the silver lining that awaits him.

If you ever feel angry these days, take a deeper look. Maybe it's just sadness. 

A deeper grief that God is calling your attention to.