DO YOU HAVE GOOD REASON TO BE ANGRY?

June 01, 2021

DO YOU HAVE GOOD REASON TO BE ANGRY?

Anger can be a terribly destructive emotion. Everyone has been on the blunt end of someone else's displeasure. And some have given more anger than they've received.

THE ROOT

Jonah is one of the most revealing stories in the Bible about this deadly emotion. Jonah became angry because he was sent on a mission he did not want, and God saved people he did not like. After God delivered 120,000 people in Ninevah, Jonah's response was telling.

But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. (Jonah 4:1)

His anger was completely unjustified and selfishly motivated. He sat down and wanted to die out of his frustration. God said to him, "Do you have good reason to be angry?" (vs. 4)

That's a great question and one we should ask every time we find ourselves boiling with hurt. Does selfishness drive our resentment? A temporary loss of our supposed "rights?" What we wanted? Are we upset because God is blessing someone we don't like? Giving others the attention we think we deserve?

When you read the account of Jonah's anger, it is full of childish whining and self-pity. Jonah is reduced to the smallest of men, and forever in history, he is remembered for his petty anger.

Don't let history record you this way. If you see anger rising, evaluate the source. If it's foolish and unwarranted, face your sin and ask God for His forgiveness and cleansing. Surrender you rights to the One who "while being reviled, reviled not again." Choose to let the grace of God flow through your life to a watching world.





Also in Graceful Truth

PLACES OF GOD'S PRESENCE
PLACES OF GOD'S PRESENCE

September 28, 2023

Where has the Lord met you? Where did the Lord give you a unique encounter of His presence? Don’t minimize these spaces. Erect an altar there of remembrance, worship, and surrender. For it is here the Lord pursued you, and here you surrendered afresh to Him.

Continue Reading

HELPING OUR CHILDREN
HELPING OUR CHILDREN

September 27, 2023

Our love for Christ and following Him matters. It not only affects us, but all those around us, and particularly our children. Isaac was the inheritor of the Lord's promise because of God's grace and goodness, but also his father Abraham's obedience played a part.

Continue Reading

LIFTING THE KNIFE BEFORE THE GOD-WHO-SEES
LIFTING THE KNIFE BEFORE THE GOD-WHO-SEES

September 26, 2023

Everything in the life that God has designed for man is about faith. We were made to live on God and no other. Drawn away from this dependency, we flounder in useless pursuits, our lives missing the whole point of our existence.

Continue Reading