Bible Verses That Shaped Me - Anger
Psalm 78:50
He prepared a path for his anger.
How long does that take? It seems thoughtful. Calculated.
Did he measure the size of his anger? Did he consider carefully where the unleashing of his anger would make an impact? Did he lay down merciful cushions all around the fall out area? Or no?
Paths are typically forged over time. Many of our roads were made by the paths the cattle took on their way to water, the heavy hooves laid down over and over again eventually created the ‘way through’ for horse and buggy riders- and eventually cars. Did God prepare the path for his anger that way? Over time? Over one thoughtful long walk pressing down heavy footprints, then another, then another, then another. Did those long walks earn the straight path for his careful, thoughtful, calculated response?
Paths are also prepared in the forests and jungles. The overgrowth is hacked away by a machete, clippers,shovels, and chainsaws. Gloves and gear required to protect skin from thorns. Clear sight required as the nests of animals and insects are unearthed, all the inhabitants that chose to live inside the overgrown path.
Preparing a path doesn’t happen overnight and certainly not in an instant.
God has anger to spend and he wields it with accuracy. When he bares his Holy Arm (Isaiah 52:10), he does it with intention and decision and he will make his mark, and we will never forget it.
There is much to hate in this world that God loves, there is much to care about and to be angry about. We aren’t mad enough yet. We are mad, but not in the effective way- the way that makes paths to water by repeated long walks through difficult terrain. The kind that sweats and swings at the thorns and overgrowth and sees it all the way through, all the way through enough that the path is clear and you can post a sign for someone else to come along the same way.
That is the kind of anger that blows open a new way and builds a highway in the wilderness. When Jesus came he acted just like his Father.
John 2:15
So he made a whip out of cords
I know that anger is “The Other Side of Love”, a really good book by Gary Chapman. I have concluded that our anger is sloppy because our love is too shallow. God can wield anger with accuracy because he so loves. I have been asking God to help me to hate what he hates so
that I can join him on those longs walks to the water, and those difficult climbs through the thick overgrowth. I am learning that the endurance for this prepared anger comes from loving what God loves.
