Be Slow to Anger

“The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

-Psalm 103:8

Do you ever find yourself getting frustrated easily?

I’ll be fully honest—I know that I get frustrated more often than I should.

It’s easy to be patient when everything is going well. When you’ve gotten enough sleep, when you’ve met your deadlines at work, when you’ve maintained healthy intimacy with your wife—that’s when it’s easy to be patient.

But it becomes so much harder to be patient when life isn’t going well.

You’ve got a newborn baby and only manage to scrape together three hours of sleep each night. Your baby cries more than your friend’s baby, and everyone you know is suggesting remedies that, quite frankly, just aren’t helpful.

It’s tough to be patient with your wife and your newborn baby in those moments.

Or maybe your children are older. Maybe they’re teenagers who are rejecting your authority, acting out at school, and acting in sinful ways. Maybe you’re finding that they’re growing apart from you. Maybe you feel helpless because the more you try to connect with them the more they push away.

It’s tough to be patient with your teenagers in those moments.

Or maybe it’s a factor outside of your family that’s impacting your mood. Maybe you had a bad day at work. Maybe your water bill was higher than you budgeted for. Maybe your local church leaders or politicians have failed you.

It’s tough to be patient with yourself in those moments.

We naturally want everything in our lives to go smoothly. We want our newborn baby to get plenty of rest. We want our teenage son to respect us. We want work to go well.

But more often than not, life will not go our way. And so, even though we know that it is wrong, we become frustrated and lash out at those around us.

Whenever I get frustrated, I find myself wondering why God doesn’t get more frustrated with us.

Think about it. God, in His goodness, created a pure and beautiful world. He gave us, His creation, free will to choose between good and evil.

You know the story. We chose evil, separating ourselves from God for all of eternity. It is only through the sacrifice of Christ that are reconciled to God.

If I were God, I would definitely be frustrated.

Does God get angry? Yes. Do we sadden Him when we sin against Him? Yes.

But the scripture tells us that God is slow to anger. He is abounding in love.

I’m overwhelmed by God’s love and mercy. I shouldn’t have the chance for eternal life with Him.

And so, just as God is slow to be angry with me, I should be slow to become frustrated and angry with those around me.