Daily Devotions
Misplaced Anger
Title: Misplaced Anger
Reading for July 20: Isaiah 20-24
In that day the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
Isaiah 22:12-13
In a previous devotion I outlined the four parts of an apology:
- I was wrong.
- I am sorry.
- Will you forgive me.
- How do I make it right?
It has occurred to me that for a sincere apology to be made there must first be anger. Not anger at the other person for what they did, but anger at self.
When our anger is misplaced instead of an apology being made the opposite is produced. When instead of being angry at ourselves and what we have done, we're angered by what the other person has done, we can turn all of those four statements around so that it reads like this.
- You were wrong!
- You should be sorry!
- You need to ask for forgiveness!
- You are going to pay for this!
If this is how we feel presently toward someone, we have four simple steps that will help us turn that anger around in the right direction:
- Pray.
- Pray.
- Pray.
- Pray.
Let's get on our knees right now, shall we?
Father, you know our hearts better than we do. You know not only what we did but why we did it. We were so wrong! We're sorry! Please forgive us! Help us to make this right!
