Twice this week, my husband’s late evening fishing has been interrupted and the grandchildren and I have needed to rush inside as thunder and lightning announced a rapidly approaching storm. The winds picked up and I felt the droplets tossed about in the air before I heard the rain advancing across the surface of the water. Half the sky remained bright blue and sunny. A dark cloud shifted overhead just before the bottom fell out, so we all headed inside to safety.
What seemed sudden to my untrained eye had actually been brewing for quite some time. The weather radar showed a massive green storm system churning overhead and as far west as the screen allowed. All the conditions are right. The wind currents and varying air temperatures collided, creating showers here and thunderstorms there. Forecasters may caution us to stay indoors but we have our plans and we’re determined to proceed.
Anger, like a sudden storm, does not usually appear out of thin air. Like a thunderhead, the circumstances align and begin to compound. The longer the dark clouds move along unhindered, the more momentum it gains and the more impossible it feels to stop.
“When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.
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.
“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected?
You will be accepted if you do what is right.
But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out!
Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.
But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:3-7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.4.3-7.NLT
“Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.”
Psalms 4:4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.4.4.NLT
“Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
Ephesians 4:26-27 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.26-27.NLT
By the time God’s question came, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” Cain’s simmering temper had boiled over into irreversible action. Worse yet, he showed absolutely no remorse.
“How should I know?
Am I his babysitter?””
Genesis 4:9 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/gen.4.9.MSG
Am I my brother’s keeper? He may as well have responded, “don’t know, don’t care.” Even that was a lie. Cain was angry with himself. I know. I’ve been in his place. I’ve rehearsed the story so often aloud or in my own head that the enemy barely needed to lift a crooked finger to tip me over the edge. Like a stovetop kettle, I’ve built up a head of steam and there’s bound to be some spitting and sputtering before I’m left with a mess to clean up.
“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’
But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!
If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court.
And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar.
Go and be reconciled to that person.
Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
Matthew 5:21-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.5.21-24.NLT
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters:
You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”
James 1:19-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.19-21.NLT
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.”
Ephesians 4:31 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.4.31.NLT
“Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.”
Psalms 37:8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.37.8.NLT
“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”
Proverbs 14:29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.14.29.NLT
“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”
Proverbs 15:1 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.15.1.NLT
“Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.”
Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ecc.7.9.NLT
“Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.”
Proverbs 19:11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.19.11.NLT
As the number of Jesus’s followers grew, more and more people put their faith in Him. Still, He knew where all this was headed. He knew what had to be done and He knew He would willingly give up His life for the Judases and the Cains, the Samsons and the Delilahs. Jesus didn’t just die for all who would believe. He died for all. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. (John 3:16) God proved that He loved the world by giving us His Son.
“But Jesus did not yet entrust himself to them, because he knew how fickle human hearts can be.
He needed no one to tell him about human nature, for he fully understood what man was capable of doing.”
John 2:24-25 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/jhn.2.24-25.TPT
“God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!
So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God.
And here is the basis for their judgment:
The Light of God has now come into the world, but the people loved darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil.”
John 3:17-19 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/jhn.3.17-19.TPT
“But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.
Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
Colossians 3:8-10, 12-13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/col.3.8-13.NLT
“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.
For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.
You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:1-2, 8 NLT
A Fitting Reply 