One night, I was upset and wrestling with the angry, wrathful part of my flesh. Although I was alone in my room, and as far as I knew, no one else was aware of the state I was in, it was plenty obvious that I needed to get a grip and calm down before getting carried away into greater anger, only to regret it later. Besides, it was bedtime, and I knew that continuing in this upset state of mind wouldn’t allow me to have a good night’s sleep.
So I got into bed, and I asked the Lord for a scripture to meditate on that could be of help to me right then. I immediately recalled James 1:19–20: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (NKJV). I repeated these words again and again in my mind, deeply reflecting on the meaning of this important admonition. Below are some insights I gained from this meditation. In the New International Version, the phrase “swift to hear” is translated as “quick to listen.” When I was much younger, I was anything but that. I talked incessantly and often monopolized conversations so that they would go according to the course I set through my constant chitchat or the many questions I asked. I only listened long enough to hear whatever it was I wanted to know before throwing in more chitchat or questions without adequately hearing people out. To put it simply, I did the opposite of the counsel in James 1:19. I was swift to speak and slow to hear. Although I have improved quite a bit in this area over the years, I still benefit from regular reminders of this important principle of being swift to hear, which also means being willing to stop long enough to listen to God’s voice. I was now contemplating confronting a certain situation in a forceful, wrathful manner, thinking I could resolve it that way. But as I meditated on James’ words, I heard the Lord telling me, “The way of anger is not the way to go. You will only make things worse by letting the sun go down on your wrath.” (See Ephesians 4:26.) I thought of Moses killing the Egyptian in an effort to free his people from slavery, only to end up putting his own life in danger. (See Exodus 2:11–15.) I recalled how he lost his temper with the Israelites, and in a moment of ire, struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, only to end up losing out on the privilege of entering the Promised Land. Despite what seemed to him like good, legitimate reasons for acting in anger, his wrath certainly failed to produce God’s righteousness. Furthermore, the Lord told me, “I want to take you from a spirit of wrath to one of rest—where you rest in Me and cast your care on Me instead of acting in your own understanding.” With that, some scriptures about resting instead of fretting or being angry came to mind:
It definitely takes belief and faith to rest in the Lord and leave the rest up to Him (no pun intended)—especially during times when I’d rather be the one in control of making things happen. But, as Hebrews 4 clearly states, lack of rest and trust in the Lord is what hindered God’s children of old from entering into and possessing the Promised Land; and I realized that I, too, could end up missing out on some of the blessings God has for me if I choose to fall into this trap of the enemy. So, over that night and the next few days, I meditated on the above-mentioned scriptures, going over them again and again in my mind and reflecting on their meaning. I resisted my natural urge to fret and become angry, and I let my soul rest in the Lord and His Word as I went about my daily tasks. Eventually, with God’s help, not only did I get to where I no longer cared how the situation I was upset about turned out, but the Lord worked it out better than I could have ever thought possible, without my having to do anything to resolve it. So, from now on, whenever the paths of wrath and rest intersect in my life, by the grace of God I will recall what the Word says, meditate on it, and choose the path of rest and trust in the Lord. – Steve Heart
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AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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