Spiritual Wait-Lifting #4

Last week we began a study of areas of "unfaith" that can creep into our lives when we are called on by God to wait - for answers to prayer, for physical healing, for change in ourselves and in others, etc. Paul Tripp very accurately pinpoints several slippery slopes that we need to avoid. The first one was giving way to doubt - questioning God's wisdom, love, and goodness. Here is the next one:

"Giving way to anger: It's very easy to look around and begin to think that the bad guys are being blessed and the good guys are getting hammered (see Psalm 73). There will be times when it simply doesn't seem right that you have to wait for something that seems so obviously good to you. It will feel that you are being wronged, and when it does, it seems right to be angry. Because of this, it's important to understand that the anger you feel in these moments is more than anger with the people or circumstances that are the visible cause for your waiting. No, your anger is actually anger with the One who is in control of those people and circumstances. You are actually giving way to thinking that you have been wronged by him."

Isn't that the truth? Very often we can't even bring ourselves to admit that the real target for our anger is God.

Let's choose instead to trust God for his great providences and his good timing, knowing that He does all things well. Giving way to anger only impedes our path to holiness.