March 22, 2023

 

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8

I’ve always appreciated that God is slow to anger. Probably because I am not. At least not most of the time. I have a hard time accepting the inevitable detours in daily life. Even those plans to do good for others seem to get highjacked frequently. The madness of this world also provokes anger in us, no doubt. Everywhere we turn there is corruption and evil. But, despite all of the ways we are provoked to anger, we are called to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Fortunately, for this difficult task we have a great teacher and guide, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

In the Hebrew scriptures it was common to refer to someone expressing anger as  “their nose burned hot” or “burned with anger” (1 Samuel 17:28). This was obviously describing the human physiological response to being filled with this intense emotion. A long nose would logically take longer to get hot, so patient people were considered long of nose or slow to anger. In the bible, this is used as a metaphor to describe how God’s anger is preceded with patience.

I read an article that pointed out that at it’s best anger demands justice and fair dealing. I think that the Holy Spirit helps us to recognize when something is unjust and when we need to take a stand. Jesus got angry at injustice and acted on it when it was necessary, and I believe, so should we. Far too often we believe there is nothing we can do about the evil in the world. Jesus shows us how to express anger with caution and only direct it towards true injustices.

Reflecting on Psalm 145 and the slow to anger character of God challenges me on my journey to maturity in Christ and reminds me that with His help, anything is possible. Lent is like a pit stop along the way to reflect on who’s I am, where I am headed and who is walking along side me.

 

- Trish Bowers

 
Hold on to Me by Lauren Daigle