QT 5/22/2023 Matt 4:1-3, Understanding our anger

James 4:1–3 (ESV) —

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

 

NOTE: I once heard (read) someone who said all anger can boil down to these verses. The root of all anger is wanting something and not being able to get it. At times, the "want" can be good, like justice. More often than not, we want our way and when we don't get it, we lash out at others.

 

When we do lash out or find ourselves angry, it is good to ask the question, "what is it I want that I am not getting? How am I being thwarted?" More often than not, it is a sinful passion or covetous or an evil motive. Even our prayers, which we might convince ourselves are "good" can have a "selfish" component behind it.

 

But what if the motive of my prayer is a true as is possible -- such as the health of a loved one? There are two answers I have found in my own life. First, my motive is never that pure and needs to be confessed. I don't like pain, stress, worry, fear, or anything where I don't exercise control. I need to be honest with God, and cast all my anxieties upon him. Secondly, I need to believe (have faith) in God, in the sense that he is aware, he cares, he is at work, he knows my pain or my child's pain, and that he is bringing good out of the situation. Sometimes that will require an eternal perspective.

 

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (ESV) — 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

 

Life is not as God intended it in the garden. Man wanted to be his own god. And God let him experience life without God ruling. Someday God will rule again, but for now, pain the reminder of our rebellion from God. The good news for believers is that "he knows the plans he has for us, plans to give us a future and a hope." Trust him and realize that our anger is Satan's attempt to get us to focus on ourselves.

 

PONDER:

1. Think about the last time I got angry -- what did I want that I was not getting?
2. Do I have faith in God or am I looking for a tooth fairy to give me what I want?

 

PRAYER: Father, I fall into this trap so often. I am a miserable creature. Somehow, you died for me and gave me grace so that I could have a future and a hope. I want to be the man you intended me to be. I want to have your meekness (like Moses) and your strength (like Joshua). Jesus is my example.