CHAPTER 1
GOD'S WORDS OF LIFE ONANGER
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should bequick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life thatGod desires.
James 1:19–20
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down whileyou are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 4:26–27
A gentle answer turns away wrath,but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1
A patient man has great understanding,but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
Proverbs 14:29
Better a patient man than a warrior,a man who controls his temper than one whotakes a city.
Proverbs 16:32
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God'swrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry,feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Indoing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Donot be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19–21
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling andslander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and com-passionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as inChrist God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31–32
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment.... But anyone who says, "Youfool!" will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:22
A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil,but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.A quick-tempered man does foolish things,and a crafty man is hated.
Proverbs 14:16–17
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord,the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow toanger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaininglove to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellionand sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; hepunishes the children and their children for the sin of thefathers to the third and fourth generation."
Exodus 34:6–7
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things asthese: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy languagefrom your lips.
Colossians 3:8
A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,but a patient man calms a quarrel.
Proverbs 15:18
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so dropthe matter before a dispute breaks out.
Proverbs 17:14
In your anger do not sin;when you are on your beds,search your hearts and be silent.
Psalm 4:4
Let the Lord judge the peoples.Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,according to my integrity, O Most High....My shield is God Most High,who saves the upright in heart.
Psalm 7:8, 10
Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;praise his holy name.For his anger lasts only a moment,but his favor lasts a lifetime;weeping may remain for a night,but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:4–5
I will listen to what God the Lord will say;he promises peace to his people, his saints—butlet them not return to folly.
Psalm 85:8
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,you preserve my life;you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,with your right hand you save me.The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;your love, O Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.
Psalm 138:7–8
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,do not associate with one easily angered,or you may learn his waysand get yourself ensnared.
Proverbs 22:24–25
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer,without anger or disputing.
1 Timothy 2:8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does notboast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, itis not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4–5
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:8
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.In doing this, you will heap burning coals on hishead,and the Lord will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21–22
An angry man stirs up dissension,and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.A man's pride brings him low,but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
Proverbs 29:22–23
Who is a God like you,who pardons sin and forgives the transgressionof the remnant of his inheritance?You do not stay angry foreverbut delight to show mercy.
Micah 7:18
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger, abounding in love.He will not always accuse,nor will he harbor his anger forever.
Psalm 103:8–9
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT ON ANGER
We live in an age of rage. By studying anger and its power,we can learn self-control so that we do not need to lose ourtemper in rage or abuse ourselves with resentment, butcan defuse anger by resolving circumstances. We shouldreflect prayerfully about how we can incorporate theseresolutions in our own lives:
• To keep my life centered on God, as best I can,recognizing that when I do not, my natural self willgenerate things to become angry about.
• To not condemn myself for feelings of anger.
• To do everything I can to avoid acting on the basisof anger.
• To clean up any problems I create as quickly aspossible.
• To redirect the energy of anger away from hurtingpeople and toward improving conditions for people.
Each person who has sought God's help in the understandingand resolution of his or her anger has, withoutexception, received that help. There is, indeed, a miracleinvolved. It is the miracle of God's love for us, the miracleof his redemptive grace.
Richard P. Walters
GOD'S WORDS OF LIFE ONANXIETY
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 55:22
Commit your way to the Lord;trust in him and he will do this:He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:5–6
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or storeaway in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present yourrequests to God. And the peace of God, which transcendsall understanding, will guard your hearts and your mindsin Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidenceis in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water thatsends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heatcomes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a yearof drought and never fails to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7–8
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be contentwith what you have, because God has said, "Never will Ileave you; never will I forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; hewill never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; donot be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of thefield grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you thatnot even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like oneof these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Matthew 6:28–30
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, donot worry about your life, what you will eat; or about yourbody, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and thebody more than clothes."
Luke 12:22–23
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worryabout itself.
Matthew 6:34
But seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, andall these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days ofyour life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I willnever leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:5
Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not bediscouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wher-ever you go.
Joshua 1:9
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of cour-age; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit ofpower, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7
He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress,and for his children it will be a refuge.
Proverbs 14:26
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us inour time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,he restores my soul.He guides me in paths of righteousnessfor his name's sake.Even though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil,for you are with me;your rod and your staff,they comfort me.You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows.Surely goodness and love will follow meall the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lordforever.
Psalm 23:1–6
We say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will notbe afraid."
Hebrews 13:6
The Lord gives strength to his people;the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11
My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heartand my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26
Great peace have they who love God's law,and nothing can make them stumble.
Psalm 119:165
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
Psalm 125:1
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen youwith power through his Spirit in your inner being, so thatChrist may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I praythat you, being rooted and established in love, may havepower, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide andlong and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to knowthis love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filledto the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16–19
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT ON ANXIETY
"Do not be anxious," Paul writes to the Philippians. In onesense it is like telling a woman with a bad head cold not tosniffle and sneeze. Or maybe it is more like telling a winoto lay off the booze or a compulsive gambler to stay awayfrom the track.
Is anxiety a disease or an addiction? Perhaps it is some-thing of both. Partly, perhaps, because you can't help it,and partly because for some dark reason you choose notto help it, you torment yourself with detailed visions of theworst that can possibly happen.
Paul does not deny that the worst things will happenfinally to all of us, as indeed he must have had a strongsuspicion they were soon to happen to him. He does nottry to minimize them. He does not try to explain them awayas God's will or God's judgment or God's method of testingour spiritual fiber. He simply tells the Philippians thatin spite of them—even in the thick of them—they are tokeep in constant touch with the One who unimaginablytranscends the worst things as he also unimaginably transcendsthe best.
Frederick Buechner
