Therefore have I set my face like flint ...
He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?
Isaiah 50:7-9 (NIV)
A Psalm of David ...
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? ...
The LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Psalms 4:2-4 (ESV)
Anger itself is not a sinful emotion. God gets angry. Sin comes in the reason for our anger and the way we express our anger.
David is an example of a good excuse for anger. He yet spent many years of his life as an innocent fugitive, fleeing from unrighteous men rather than striking against them. Yet he exhorted, "Be angry, and do not sin." Like Isaiah, his confidence was that "He who vindicates me is near."
Sure, I can have a face like a flint—if I'm struck just so, the sparks fly. WRONG application! Oh for the ability to set one's face like a flint as Isaiah, unmoved in the face of the worst provocation! Oh for the ability to say, "Bring it on," because I am so strong in the Spirit that I will respond correctly.
Sovereign Lord, Your anger is as holy as You are. The wrath of man is so ugly and sinful, completely at odds with Your Spirit's work in us. Please help us yield to Your Spirit and respond to situations as Jesus would. Let anger motivate us without provoking us, because we are like Him.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy
Yield me dear Lord.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the anger of the Lord, I think not so much of divine thunderbolts but more of Him withdrawing His blessings and His protection from us, because we have violated our covenant with Him and He is no longer bound to it.
ReplyDeleteTough love.
Then the consequences come of being left to our own strength and we can either learn from them and repent, or foolishly blame God and make our situation worse.
Truly, as God said to Ezekiel, He takes no pleasure in the death [or punishment] of the wicked. And if we will turn to Him, scarlet can quickly be turned to snow.