I’m Angry!
Psalm 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Anger is a fact of life. We’re not talking here just about getting annoyed at the little things that people do. In terms of its magnitude, annoyance is like a four or five out of ten. Anger, on the other hand, is a minimum of eight or nine out of ten.
Am I right?
We all get angry from time to time. You do, I do, even God does. But it’s how we get angry, and how long we let it go on for, that really matter. The worst sort of anger is the sort that rises up quickly inside us and then hangs around for a long time.
When was the last time that you were really angry with someone? Think back, picture it and dwell in that moment with me. So, how long did it take to happen? A week, a day or two, or did you fly off the handle in half a second?
And then, how long did it take you to forgive the person? A minute or two? An hour? A day, a week … or are you still stewing over it? Are you still carrying that unforgiveness around in your heart? Can you feel a deep sense of bitterness toward that person taking root in your heart?
As I said, God gets angry too from time to time. But His anger tends to be quite a bit different to ours. Let’s take a look:
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Psalm 103:8)
How is it that God can be slow to anger? Well, because His general demeanour, the thing that’s naturally going on in His heart, is that He is merciful and gracious. In fact, a few verses later, the psalmist goes on to say this:
As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14)
How quickly we get angry, and how long it takes us to forgive, has everything to do with who we are and what’s going on in our hearts.
Yes, God gets angry too from time to time. But whilst you and I are often quick to anger and slow to forgive, His anger is the complete opposite of that. God is slow to anger … and quick to forgive.
And that’s a matter of the heart. Your approach to anger is a measure of what’s going on in your heart. So, be …
… merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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