Daily Archive

Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” Psalm 2:1-3 (NLT)

We live in an angry world. That’s no secret to anyone who is paying any attention at all to their surroundings. On a global level nearly every nation in the world is feeling the effects of unrest, from peaceful protests to violent exchanges resulting in 1,000’s of deaths.

Within the home anger thrives as well. Husbands and wives clashing because ‘rights’ and ‘needs’ aren’t being met by the other. Anger that drives them to affairs, divorce, violence or even murder and suicide. Children rebelling against the ways of their parents. Casting off the ‘old, irrelevant religion’ of mom and dad for a new way of thinking that places their own ability at the center of the quest for meaning to life. Their search for that meaning leads to apathy, frustration and…anger.

We don’t verbalize it of course, but the foundation of our anger is the need for meaning in life. The catalyst in our quest is Satan. He put the seeds of doubt in the mind of Eve in the garden and has been doing so ever since. Satan, the great enemy of our souls, blamed God for harsh rules then, he’s doing it today.

As humans we are slaves to one power or another. There are no choices in that regard. We can choose to be slaves to the devious plans of the enemy, or we can choose to be slaves to the power of God. The former leads to frustration, hopelessness and anger. The latter leads to hope, faith and a life of fulfillment that started this quest in the first place. The former says, “I’m in charge of my own destiny. My success and happiness is my own responsibility.” Jesus says, “Your happiness and protection are my responsibility. I bring all the power of the almighty, loving God into our relationship for your good.”

The world says “Let’s free ourselves from slavery to God” but Jesus says, “Let me take the chains of slavery that cause your anger, fear and frustration from you.” The choice is yours. Will you continue to fight against God or will you choose to live in the freedom only Jesus can offer?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m surrounded by angry people. I feel the effects of my own anger rising up as I deal with the frustrations of life. Within me I want to fix it myself, but in reality know I can’t. Forgive my anger and rebellion. Empower me to live in the freedom (not the chains) of your love. Amen.