The Trap of Anger (II):

“It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.” (Exodus 32:19, New American Standard Bible).

This is the key Bible verse for the “Come and See” devotional today.

It can be a horrible sight when people made in the image of the Most High react in anger to seemingly minor situations. We see people fighting in public and behaving irrationally during a spell of anger. The Bible states: “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1, New King James Version). Medical rehabilitations has done little to help victims of the trap of anger.

The first part of this series of devotionals related how the anger present in Moses stopped him from reaching the Promised Land. On arrival at the wilderness of Kadesh, the children of Israel again gathered against Moses and Aaron because there was no water. (Refer to Numbers 20:1-13). In response, they both prayed to God for water and God explicitly told Moses what to do. He said: “take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” (Numbers 20:8, New King James Version). Thus, Moses was instructed to speak to the rock, but he struck it with the rod instead.

In anger, Moses chose to rebuke the Israelites and he referred to them as rebels. In response, God punished Moses and Aaron, saying: “because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20.12, New King James Version). If anger could stop Moses who spoke face to face with God from reaching the Promised Land, it can prevent all of us from fulfilling our divine destiny on earth.

We can start to conquer anger by calling on help from the Holy Spirit. Also, we need to recognise that no human being is perfect and we are all subject to errors. This acceptance help us to manage our expectations in every situation and will help to increase our tolerance of disappointments. “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:10, New International Version

This was the mind-set of Jesus Christ who had to deal with all kinds of people during his earthly life. He suffered incessant attacks and persecution from the teachers of the law but these did not make him sin and instead, He boldly declared: “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” (John 14:30, New King James Version). We must be mindful of the pitfalls of anger!

Let us pray: “Father, by your Grace and Mercy, deliver me from anger. Holy Spirit, I ask you to take control of my emotions,” in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

This message was brought to you by Evangelical Ministries International (EMI). We know this message has been a blessing to you. Please share your testimonies with us by visiting our website www.evangelicalministries.org or contact us on info@evangelicalministries.org. God bless you!