Galatians 4:12
“Brothers, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as you are: you have not injured me at all.”
Paul invested much into the Galatian people; time, received threats, loving them, prayer, worry and so on. Now some have come along and have corrupted the church; their beliefs are off. The end of this verse has Paul making it clear that he isn't mad. There is emotion though. He is greatly saddened.
This is very mature of him. It would be understandable. He was probably hurt that they abandoned some of his message. He doesn't dwell on that though. He takes himself and his human response and puts it aside.
If he were angry, that could have complicated things. While anger is a normal emotion, it can be misdirected and its volume can be too much. He was probably angry at the judaizers who came in after him and corrupted the message. Just like Jesus when He expressed anger. It wasn't at the people, but those who were leading them into error.
We need to be careful as to how we deal with anger. It will be present. We can't let it remain. If it stays in us, it can turn to bitterness. Here's what Hebrews 12:15 has to say about that, "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled".
Bitterness is the after taste that resides when we've been hurt or disappointed. It's natural to let that be on a slow burn in the background. Unfortunately it's like cancer. It's destruction often goes unnoticed, but real. The Hebrews author says when bitterness is allowed to grow it's result is to spring up and cause trouble and defile many. The defiling is that others have adopted the hurt angry feelings. This creates division.
There needs to be a battle against bitterness inside us. When those hurt feelings arise, we need to ask for the Lord's help. Psalm 16:11 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." When we ask for His help, this verse says He makes known the path of life. This is so gracious. Hurt is powerful and difficult to let go. I John 3:20 says that God is greater than our hearts. He can overcome it. He'll show us how.
While hurt will always come, we don't need to let it reside and turn to anger and bitterness. Paul was successful at this. He was able to say, "you have not injured me at all". He knew they were thinking that. He had learned to bring that to God and remove that destructiveness.
Lord, help us with those hurt feelings. Help us to bring them to You. Thank You for the healing that You bring.