Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 30:29-33
Prov 30:29-33
29 Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: 30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; 31 the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him. 32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. 33 For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.
Eph 4:26-27
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Learn to let it go. When we get really angry (in the south we say that we are mad enough to bite a nail in to), we only harm ourselves. If we fuss, we fume, we may even fight, but when it is all over, the harm is to us, not the other person. We need to learn to let it go. Most of the time we just need to learn not to get so angry in the first place. Anger is usually caused because we feel that someone has done us wrong in some way. They are driving too slowly. They are taking too long to decide, and we are having to wait in line. They said something that I don’t like.
There are times when we should be angry. When people take the name of God in vain. When people belittle the Lord Jesus. When people slander or gossip about a good person. When people refuse to respect the word of God and what it says. It is not a good reason to be angry when someone disagrees with us or when they correct us or when we think they are not respecting us. Life is not about us.
One of the best things we can do to control our anger is to stop and try to understand why that other person is acting the way they are, or why they said what they said, or why they feel the way they do. Replace anger with compassion and with understanding. Love is not easily angered.
There were so many times that Jesus could have become angry, but he chose to help instead. When the people were hungry because they had not brought any food, he fed them. When he was tired and tried to get away from the crowd, but they found him and pressed against him, he healed them. But he did get angry when they refused to listen to God or when they blasphemed the Holy Spirit.
O Lord God, help me control my anger so that I get angry about the right things and not the ones that are about me. When I do get angry, help me get over it so that it doesn’t ruin my day or my life. When someone slights me or does me wrong, help me to have compassion and just forgive them and let it go. Give me a heart of love so that I can be like Jesus in all I say and all I do. Be with those who are suffering because of weather – rain or drought. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Robert
