Slow to Anger

Over the past year, I've engaged with friends who have made decisions that have deeply cut into my core. Decisions made out of loss of hope, frustration, or simply not knowing where to turn. These decisions were made to intentionally hurt me, but they've grieved me nonetheless.

The emotions I've felt and processed have been deep sadness and frustration, and usually the following emotion has been anger. After the compassion-induced sadness has passed, I grow more frustrated at the situation, and then feel angry at how this situation has affected me so deeply.

Yet, in Scripture, I continue to find:

  "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.'" Exodus 34:6

"The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love, and forgiving sin and rebellion." Numbers 14:18

"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Psalm 103:8

"Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." Joel 2:13

"He prayed to the LORD, 'Isn't this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.'"Jonah 4:2

I find the description of God's character to be "slow to anger" and "abounding in love". God is also mentioned to be "gracious", "compassionate", "faithfulness" and "[relenting] in sending calamity".
And as I've processed with the decisions that have affected me so deeply, and slowly engaging past decisions I've made that have hurt my own community, I've become incredibly amazed. Amazed at God's heart and character. In the midst of decisions that humanity has made against Him, he is still abounding in love, and slow to anger.

In the process of engaging my own hurt and pain, I've become so grateful that God isn't like me. Like us. I'm glad that God is such that he abounds in love, is slow to anger... 'cause in the midst of all the mistakes I've made, and will continue to make, I am glad God is unchanging and that he loves before any other emotion enters the picture.