He passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness.” – Exodus 34:6
S . . . L . . . O . . . W . . . to anger is definitely a characteristic of the Lord, and quick to anger is what we humans are! We set our agendas for each day, each month, and each year and grow upset when our schedules are violated. We get frustrated with mechanical breakdowns, inefficient service, and difficult relationships.
God’s nature, however, is just the opposite. When He told Moses His name, God revealed that He is compassionate and gracious. Because He is abounding in love and faithfulness, He is more concerned with a person’s needs than with his faults.
How well we need to learn that lesson! A faithful marriage partner, for example, will stick with his spouse even when that person is hard to love. He will live in the light of the scripture found in 2 Timothy 2:13: “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
Besides being faithful and compassionate, God is forgiving (Exodus 34:6-7). Such forgiveness is the crowning virtue of His long-suffering. Because He automatically forgives those who repent of wickedness, God is automatically slow to anger.
Make it a practice to control your anger by instant and spontaneous forgiveness when someone does something to hurt you. If Jesus could forgive the soldiers for their abuse (Matthew 27:28-31), how much more should you be able to control the petty anger and frustrations of everyday life?
