We live in an excitable world. The mindset our culture pushes at us, destroys our peace of mind, and encourages a spirit of anger and strife. People are easily roused into a state of irritability, and always seem to be ready to argue. When others’ emotions run away with them, maintaining control over our feelings is a sign of emotional maturity.
God Gave Us Authority in the Emotional Realm
Believers have been set apart from the world. One of the ways we’re different is that unlike others, we don’t have to let rage control us.
Emotional maturity is one of the fruits of the Spirit we receive from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. As human beings, there will be times when we get angry over something; however, maintaining the authority we have over our feelings keeps us from staying that way. “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26, 27, NLT).
The devil wants to ruin our lives by constantly pushing us into anger and negativity. Staying calm is a powerful spiritual weapon we can use against him. Emotionally mature people don’t let their momentary feelings dictate their response; they intentionally process the situation to keep their response from turning into a full-blown, emotional, knee-jerk reaction.
We Can Have Emotions Without Giving In to Them
The sign of emotional maturity isn’t to avoid having any feelings at all, 
but to maintain a calm disposition no matter what’s happening around us. Calmness helps us think clearly when others are highly emotional. An advantage of remaining calm is the ability to see options for dealing effectively with the situation. The times when we’re tempted to angrily unleash on someone are perfect opportunities for the Holy Spirit to step in and help us keep our emotions in check.
God wants us to control our emotions and not let them control us. Remaining calm is our way of showing that we trust Him in this area. “A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent” (Proverbs 17:27, 28, NLT). When we feel anger boiling up, sometimes it’s better to hold our tongues until we feel we can speak rationally; God takes a dim view of emotional immaturity.
Speaking in Anger Is Spiritually Dangerous
Our words are powerful. They can bring us either good or evil things. What we say can either exacerbate a situation, or take things down a
notch or two until all parties can work out the issue amiably. Controlling the tongue allows us to control the whole body (James 3:2).
It’s not easy living in this world. Chaotic, stressful things happen that are going to affect us emotionally, no matter how much we try not to get drawn into things. If we’re not on our guard, it’s easy to become anxious, overwhelmed, and even angry. The spirit of anger doesn’t do anyone any good.
Speaking in anger causes us to say foolish things and make hurtful decisions. We’ve all experienced the aftermath of what happens when we angrily say something without first thinking it through all the way. Normally there are bad feelings and regret left over, and emotional damage we need to clean up. We can apologize, but we can never take back angry words once they leave our mouths. “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm” (Psalm 37:8, NLT).
Negative Emotions Interfere with Rational Reasoning
Getting too angry interferes with clear thinking. However, the danger isn’t just with anger, but with any negative emotion. God wants us to have peace, but worry and anxiety block our peace.
Life will always present us with challenges to our emotional control. The point when our feelings start churning inside of us and threatening to take over is the precise time to go to God and ask for His intervention in the matter. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6, 7, NLT). Worry is negative meditation on the wrong things, and it moves us out of our place of calmness. Prayer helps us regain our equilibrium; praying with a thankful attitude puts things in a different perspective and has a way of stabilizing our emotions.
There Are Multiple Advantages to Staying Calm
There are many benefits of a calm disposition; one of them is how it 
strengthens our relationships. When we have our occasional disagreement or difference of opinion, remaining calm keeps the lines of positive communication open. The enemy doesn’t want us to have a quiet spirit, and therefore uses anger to move us out of the calmness that comes from God. Losing our temper never helps the situation.
Staying calm also fosters creativity and boosts productivity. We all remember times when we were so angry that we couldn’t think straight when we needed to. Anger and agitation prevent us from tapping into the creative gifts God blessed us with.
A third benefit of calmness is that it reduces stress. Jesus had to point this out to the disciples. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6:25-27, NKJV). When the worries of the world show up, this applies to us as well.
Our feelings will always lurk under the surface. Being emotionally mature doesn’t mean shutting emotions down, but simply managing them. When the enemy tries to distract us with negative emotions, staying calm helps us hear God more clearly.
