I’ve Irish heritage—so there is nothing
slow about the angry side of my temperament. God has worked on me for many
years—taming my hot head. I am grateful that I don’t get angry and blow up like
I did when I was younger. Poof! Was I a
fire-breathing dragon? God has been merciful to me, molding me to be a more
compassionate person. His love never
fails. Never fails to amaze me.
God must not be Irish since He is slow to
anger. When He renewed His covenant with Moses He told Moses that He was slow
to anger…
The
LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, "Yahweh! The LORD! The God of
compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and
faithfulness." Exodus 34:6. It takes compassion and mercy to not get
angry…and the Lord had plenty of reason to be angry with those Israelites as
Moses was leading them from Egypt to the Promised Land. Later in Numbers 14 it
is recorded that God was ready to wipe out the Israelites for being such a
disobedient, rebellious bunch of people, but Moses took their defense, asking
God to pardon them. Moses repeats God’s declaration that He is slow to anger
and abundant in lovingkindness. God is awesome and certainly treated the
Israelites and us far better than we deserve. He is gracious and loving beyond
measure. Those qualities could be contributing factors in His slow to anger temperament.
When there is deep love, compassion and mercy, anger doesn’t happen so quickly.
I perceive anger as a basic human emotion
that often occurs when personal boundaries are crossed or expectations are not
met. The degree to which a person experiences the anger may be dependent on
their past experiences, level of irritation, or even current health issues. God
is our best example in how to deal with anger. Be slow—think things through.
Listen to council of wise people—of course you have to choose to associate with
wise people, not jerks. Have compassion and mercy for others—not insisting on
your own way. Your idea may seem best to you—but that doesn’t mean that it is
right for everyone. Humbling thought.
Prayer ~ Thank You, Lord for being merciful
and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are
the best. Change me from a prickly pear cactus into a beautiful rose…with only
a few protective thorns.
Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles
5
©
2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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