October 01, 2020

Today’s Reading

Psalm 103:8 KJV
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

If you are like me (and Lord knows I hope you arent’t) I have found myself in the past viewing Jesus as “the loving one,” and God the Father as “the angry one.” (Just being honest) This, of course, couldn’t be more false. Jesus and the Father are one with each other, so their characters do not conflict with each other. This verse shows us the heart of our Father: “slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.” He is not an angry dictator in Heaven, but the One who came from heaven to earth to show us how deep and wide His love is (How many of you started thinking about the song Deep and Wide there? You’re welcome!) What a comfort it is to know that our Father loves us! He looks at you with grace in His eyes. You may fall into the same sin every day for an entire year, and you still would not outpace God’s love for you. He is not one to get angry quick. He is not like some angry babysitter who has an outburst at your first sign of disobedience or rebellion. No, He is very slow to be angry with you. However, notice that this verse does not say that God never gets angry. There are things that God gets angry at, and rightfully so. Many people don’t like this thought. Today, it is easy for people to think of God as love and love only. But you can’t have love without anger. Let me explain, if someone were to attack your family, you would be angry, and again, rightfully so. It is not a sin to be angry when someone does something wrong to someone you love. Therefore, since God is love, God can and does get angry when things go wrong. If God can get angry, that means you can, too. But keep in mind, godly anger is not an out-of-control anger. It is an anger that is controlled, and it is very slowly unleashed. The problem is, we are often quick to anger, rather than being slow to anger, like our Savior is. If God has patience with you, then you should also have patience with that person who easily pushes all of your buttons. Take a moment to reflect on God’s love for you, and how He has held back anger when you have done things wrong again and again. Then, I want you to think of a person who you can practice being slow to becoming angry with.

Frank Newsome