Anger & Impatience

It takes a LOT to get me angry these days. However, when I do feel anger that isn’t righteous, I go immediately to the Lord with it and ask for His wisdom.

James 4:1-10

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

God opposes anger and arrogance. He bestows his grace on the exact opposite of those – humility and a soft answer. Knowing this just makes me want to honor God that much more – even when I deal with impatience with people more than I do anger with them. I’m not an angry person.

I think the core of this is surrendering outcomes. That pride we can get into with anger and impatience is really just about not feeling like we’re in control of the outcomes. So the reality that we’re NOT in control can really free us, but we have to allow it.

Selah

xo, T