Lesson 50 – When the Spirit Brings Anger

1 Samuel 11:6

"Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused"

    If like me, you've probably wondered some about the concept of righteous anger. You know this kind. We see it in the righteous indignation of Christ when he drove the money changers out of the temple. This is the anger we are right to have.

    While most of us naturally think we're justified every time we're overcome by anger, it is important to understand that not every anger is righteous in God's eyes. In fact, most anger is probably sinful, since it is only when the anger we have is of the Lord that we can claim it to be righteous.

    One of King Saul's first acts of leadership was to call the nation to arms to defend of the city of Jabesh Gilead from Ammonite armies. Though David wouldn't come on the scene until later, this situation was a classic case of David versus Goliath. Here is the much smaller city aligned against a nation who threatened them with the choice of enslavement or destruction. The bully spoke, Saul hears of the plight of the oppressed, and under the movement of the Spirit, his "anger was greatly aroused." God led him to have a righteous anger.

    Any time the Spirit causes a believer to rise up in anger, you can bet your emotions are righteous. You see, it is God who decides the righteousness of anger. It is not a matter of taking stock, surveying the situation, and making a decision in which you think you're justified in your actions, even in being anger. Instead, it is the Spirit's filling that keys us to righteous anger.

    Without the Spirit, our anger is surely of the old nature and not of God, no matter how well justified we think our emotions and actions may be. When the Spirit is not controlling the life of a believer, we are in sin, wondering from God, and embracing our old life. In that case, our anger can never be viewed as righteous.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I invite your Spirit alone to be the master of my emotions. May I rightly rise up in anger as you lead. May I push away from every anger that is not from your presence. Amen.