My Monday Morning Cup | If April Showers Bring May Flowers What Do May Showers Bear?

Rain dominated the past week as it appears to be prone to do this next week. According to various reports I’ve read, it’s rained over 5 inches in the DFW area this month. The humidity is kicking in gear already, promising to make for a hot Summer.

Scripture does not suggest that the life of a believer will be absent of problems. To the contrary, I believe the Bible acknowledges that life is filled with wide roads that narrow and spotted with a variety of hills and valleys along our journey. But, God’s Word does not leave us to fend for ourselves. Rather, through His revelation, the Lord provides ample guidance, direction, and wisdom designed to help us keep the highs in perspective and assist us in navigating the lows.

A wise person lives life with boldness in spite of the inevitable difficulties.

Tremper Longman III, “How to Read Proverbs”

Proverbs is one of my favorite Bible books. For one thing, it offers a breadth of advice on how to live a godly life. It’s also relatively simple to maintain a regular reading schedule of Proverbs. That can be particularly important during seasons we are busier than usual, which around our house seems to be true more often than not.

Recently, in seeking help with acquiring a Biblical perspective on anger, mostly due to my preparing to preach on the final chapter of Jonah, and in part due to some triggers I am personally grappling with, I turned to Proverbs.

An angry person starts fights;
a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

Proverbs 29:22 (New Living Translation)

Anger is an intriguing topic that crops up throughout Scripture. Esau demonstrates it in Genesis after Jacob cheats him out of his birthright.

From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”

Genesis 27:41 (NLT)

Anger is a strong emotion expressing displeasure ignited by a perceived wrong or injustice, real or imagined. Bitterness, contempt, displeasure, hate, hatred, resentment, and wrath are cousins of anger.

Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Genesis 4:4-5 (NLT)

Cain’s anger got the best of him and he killed his brother, Abel.

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

James 1:20 (NLT)

After God relents from destroying Nineveh after their repentance, rather than rejoicing, Jonah is displeased and angry.

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.

Jonah 4:1 (NLT)

Anger reveals heart truths about Jonah as it often does about us. We all carry around hurts, wounds, and past sores. I think anger is our natural response when our personal theology is threatened. Theology is what we think and believe to be true about God. As A.W. Tozer declares, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” In my studies, I’ve determined that Jonah’s theology is threatened by witnessing God forgive and show mercy toward the repentant Ninevites, Israel’s arch enemies (and therefore Jonah’s enemies, too.)

---

You might also enjoy reading Psalm 25 | Seeking God During Difficult Times – The Devotional Guy™

---

Have you experienced anger lately? I know COVID and the isolation surrounding it certainly has amped up our everyday tensions. The recent tumult of the political season skewered our collective temperaments, as did the social unrest that raged alongside all the burning turmoil of the past twelve months.

What are some methods you employ to ease your anger?

I love hearing from you so please share your tips in the “Comments” section below. I pray your week is filled with blessings and that God shines His favor upon you.

Humbly,

The Devotional Guy™

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram!