Be not Hasty in thy Spirit to be Angry

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9, KJV)

Solomon gives us solid advice on dealing with life’s challenges that are increasingly prone to provoke anger in us in a vast majority of cases. He counsels us not to be hasty in getting angry, and he goes further to give us the reason behind this advice—anger rests in the bosom of fools. In other words, foolishness makes a man or woman to be swift in getting angry or allow anger unrestraint expression in their lives.

Scripture tells us that our human anger does not produce the righteousness of God( James 1:20). God gets angry, but He does not sin. That is not the case with us. There is hardly any one of us who would do a holy or righteous thing in the heat of anger. Scripture uses the word “fire” to describe strong emotions such as anger. If you think about what fire does, then you will understand the power of rage. It consumes the good and the bad alike, and after it is done, nothing is beautiful in its wake!

Those who are hasty in getting angry often do things that would either ruin their lives, important relationships they have, the lives of others or possibly the stuff they own. This is why Solomon says only a fool allows his anger to have full expression because that anger, like fire, will consume his own very life.

On a typical day, more things will provoke anger in you than things that will calm you down. This is the sad reality of our fallen, broken world. However, the Lord does not want you to mechanically respond to environmental stimuli and allow them to control your actions. He wants you to rule over your feelings and circumstances by His Word. Yes, what they said would have caused you to flare up in anger, but the Word says you should not be hasty in your spirit to be angry! Jesus rules as King in your life when His Word takes the upper hand and rules over your responses. It takes the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to respond this way. As we gradually die to self and yield to the Spirit, we will find His power helping us become able to put a check on our anger before it turns around and ruin our lives.

MEDITATE

Why does the Lord not want you to give unrestraint expression to your anger?

APPLY THE WORD

Someone might be saying right now “I was born this way,” or “that is how I have always been.” There is hope. The Word of God can change the heart of anyone. There is nothing else in this world that I know as a doctor and minister that can change human hearts. You do not have to fake a change. Simple take the Word, put it in your heart, pay attention to it and allow the Spirt of God to transform you from the inside out. He longs to do so.