Slow To Anger

• What makes you angry?

• How do you react when you get really angry?

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

If you want proof that God is slow to anger, you need only look at Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. When God told Abraham that he was going to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham had the nerve to ask him to reconsider. Abraham was afraid that righteous people in the cities would be destroyed along with the wicked. So he asked God if he would save the cities if 50 righteous people could be found in them. To his great relief, God agreed.

But then Abraham worried that he wouldn’t be able to find 50 righteous people, so he tried to lower the number to 45. Once again, God agreed. So Abraham kept going: 40, 30, 20, 10. And each time, God agreed. Even though the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were extremely evil, God gave them every chance to repent and turn to him.

God doesn’t make exceptions to his justice. And he doesn’t look past sin—ever. But he is slow to punish sinners because he wants everyone to have a chance to turn to him. He shows his compassion before he shows his anger.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for giving us every opportunity to repent and receive your forgiveness. Let us learn from your example, being quick to show compassion and grace and being slow to get angry. Amen.