Slow to anger – Devotion for
Are you quick tempered? For me it depends on the day. Some days, for whatever reason, it seems like the smallest little thing will just set me off immediately. Other days, I will be much more judicious in what angers me. I feel that as I have gotten older that I am not as quick to get angry as I used to be. I was going to insert an example here of some of the type of things that I used to get angry about real quick, but the examples were too numerous for me to limit to just one. No matter how quick we may be to get angry, chances are that we know someone who serves as something of a role model for us – someone who seems to rarely get angry. I know that I have encountered some of these people (in fact a couple of faces come to mind as I write this), and many times when I am about to get angry I try to think what one of those individuals might would do in that situation.
One of the characteristics of God that is mentioned over and over again is mentioned in Psalm 145:8 – “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” That verse (or similar variations of) is found over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Too many times we think of God as a punishing God or an angry God. But in reality, God is a loving God, who is compassionate and understanding. God is gracious and merciful in the way that He deals with us – so gracious and merciful that instead of punishing us, He allowed His own son to suffer the punishment that we deserved. God is slow to anger – He does not delight in anger. Anger isn’t always a bad thing, but if we jump straight to anger quickly, then we definitely are not following in the ways of God. So today, instead of letting your first instincts take over, hold off on the anger. Demonstrate the same grace and mercy that God has shown you.
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