Run Over by the Grace TrainNäide

DAY 8: Grace is Slow to Anger

Anger is like the pin of a grenade. If you pull that pin, there will be an explosion, and it won’t just affect you, but also everything and everyone around you. Anger is an emotion God gave us, and emotions are not evil. It is what we do with them that matters. The Bible tells us in James 1:19 to be slow to anger. This slowness to anger comes from God Himself. In Exodus 34, God reveals His character to Moses, and He says He is slow to anger, which literally is translated as “long nose” in Hebrew. This description portrays anger rising from your “gut” all the way up your face, where you would snort and snarl it out. The longer the nose, the longer it took for the anger to be released. What this is saying is that God Almighty is not reactionary or quick-tempered. He is not waiting in the bushes to bust you. He is not keeping a list and checking it twice.

God calls you His beloved, and when you trust Jesus and surrender to Him as Lord, you are spared from God’s wrath towards sin. You are no longer an enemy of God, but you belong to Him. Ownership precedes identity, and identity precedes activity. To change what you are doing, you must first know who you are, which starts with knowing whose you are.

If you want to heal your anger, you must take it to the One who can be angry and not sin. God’s anger is slow, and it is also perfect. God is holy; therefore, He cannot sin, thus making His wrath toward sin holy justice.

Ask God to show you the root of your anger. What are you believing about Him and about yourself that are lies? Receive the grace that Christ purchased for you and repent from your anger daily.