Refrain From Anger

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

(Psalm 37:7-8)

Meditation

Waiting on the Lord is not something I do well. I get frustrated at, what I perceive as the injustice of evil prevailing over good. I wonder why wicked people always seem to succeed, even flourish, when good men and women are always taking it on the chin. I am thinking, for example, of the wedding cake bakers out in one of the western coastal states who got a heavy fine for standing up for their faith. If we are on the side of goodness, shouldn’t we want someone to do something about it. However, it’s not our place to demand retaliation. No matter what evil is done in this world, the Lord will punish in his own time. It might not even be in our lifetimes or the lifetime of the evil doer. God’s justice will prevail so the punishment will come, even if it happens in eternity.

If we personally retaliate against someone, we’re committing just another act of wickedness. There was a man with a small family who was cheated out of a house and property by a wicked, heartless lender. The man who had been cheated returned to the property late at night and burned down the house. The wicked banker suffered a financial loss on the property he’d stolen but the other man went to prison for arson. All his anger got him was more misery for himself and his family. Instead of waiting for the Lord’s justice, he took matters into his own hands. Not only did he break the laws of the land but the laws of God, also.

God is the only one worthy to meet out judgment on the wicked; it’s not our place or our responsibility. We are living in a time when good is being called evil and evil is being called good. In our fervor for the Lord, we want to see the evil people in the world punished but our anger only harms us. Many years ago, a deluded Christian man murdered an abortionist. The abortionist was dead, but the public outcry did more to harm the image of Christ than anything else. It goes without saying that if our zealous anger leads us to do something we shouldn’t, even if it’s only hatred in our hearts, we will have succumbed to evil ourselves. It’s okay to hate the evil that people do just don’t hate the people. Remember, our God has already won the final battle and his justice will prevail in the end. Hallelujah! 

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, we are in awe of your majesty. We can only bow in reverent submission as we come into your presence. How could we have any other god but you? We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. He came to pay the price for our sins. Since we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we are grateful for his sacrifice. Father restrain us from the desire to attempt to meet out your justice on the evil people we’re confronted with. It is never our place to punish evil doers. You will handle their judgment in your good time, not ours. Keep us from any jealously when they seem to prosper even when we wallow in desperate attempts at success. When we’re cheated, help us to forgive our offender and try to show them there’s a better way to treat people. Give us the courage to speak your truth to them even when they are slandering your good name. Thank you, Lord, for being so faithful even when we fail you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!