Anger is an emotion I feel ill-equipped with which to cope. I fear being hated. Yet, I also can’t stand how some people behave. It aggravates me the way some people disrespect others. Then, in retrospect, I realize, in my own arrogance, I have unintentionally disrespected others.
The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil; I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the wicked mouth.
Proverbs 8:13
Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming.
Proverbs 27:4
Immediately, when I see my arrogance, my anger, my hurtful tongue… My heart aches and I weep. I know the unkindness of words and the effects they have on hurting hearts and souls and I just want to say, “I am sorry for hurting you. I am sorry for others who have hurt you… We live in a broken world; our world is very broken.”
I know people are hurting and, to be honest, I am too. I know it is not fair to tell people that. I know everyone is struggling. The world is harsh and many days, we are proud of ourselves just for getting out of bed in the morning.
As I prepared to write this morning and read, I ran across Proverbs 27: 19
As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person. Proverbs 27:19 NET
As I reread this in a different translation, it hits differently. Think about heart status. Are our hearts Reflecting the Attributes of Jesus?
I can tell you right now that mine is not. I am scared, tired, fed up, and crying… A LOT. When I laugh, it is often that slap happy laughing that you see in four-year-olds when they fart and blame it on their imaginary friends.
Initially, my response is partially accurate. I want to blame it on myself in a mean-spirited and self-critical way, which others will say is not completely true. I want to rave at the world, which most will say is not completely helpful.
What do we do?
We start by looking at our hearts.
Try me, O Jehovah, and prove me, Purified are my reins and my heart. Psalms 26:2 YLT
Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts, Psalms 139:23 YLT
So we begin by praying for forgiveness and asking for better attitudes.
Then, we ask to be filled up with the Holy Spirit that we might do the will of Jehovah.
And we pray for others. We pray for those who annoy us. We pray for those who bullied us. We pray for those who treated us poorly. We pray that they find truth. We pray for forgiveness for holding it against them. We forgive them. We forgive them again. And again. And again.
And again.
We seek Truth. We ask God for help and guidance. The world will only make us stumble.
By the way, we have to forgive those folks again.
Then, we ask God to pick us up. We dust ourselves off. We acknowledge we cannot do it alone: We need God and we need other believers. We admit that reading the Bible is one of the best ways we can know the Lord and His will for our lives and we do it.
By the way, we have to forgive those folks again.
Yes, that’s right. READ the BIBLE. If you struggle with reading, there is no shame. There are options that are free. There are free apps that will read it to you, just look up Bible on your APP Store on your Smart Phone (if you have one, or even on your computer).
I heard a statistic the other day and just double checked it… It takes only 65-75 hours to read the Bible. Now, people keep breaking it down to 15 minutes a day to read in a year, which is admirable.
However, I have to share something with you. You may find yourself really enjoying it. I once read Job in one sitting. Yes, it took about a little over an hour, but what a book!
I want to wrap up by saying that our world is broken. Yes. Double Triple Check YES! However, God still meant for us to have fellowship with Him. So, He gave us the opportunity to pray, to confess, to read His Word, to seek Him, to KNOW Him… So, let us take this opportunity to know a perfect Creator, who can help us through these troubling times.
Heavenly Father,
We love You, need You, and want You in our lives. We need more of You and less of us. Forgive our Anger. Help us to forgive others. Help us to cope with the world and those in the world. Help us to know You and find You. Abba, You promised that if we sought You, we would find You.
We Pray These Things in the Holy Name of Jesus Messiah,
Finding Purpose 
Leave a comment