How Ps. 145:8-9 shows moms the right way to manage anger {free printable!}

• Tweet
• Email

This is the final post in a series on Psalm 145 – a passage with lots to say about your life!  Scroll down for links to the whole series. 

I’m not an angry person, but parenting has brought some ugly traits to the surface of my heart – particularly anger. Is anyone else feeling me?

But here’s the good news, Ps. 145 gives moms like me – who struggle with anger – renewed hope. We have hope for managing unholy anger. We have hope for becoming more like our holy Father.

Ps. 145:8-9 helps me to remember what kind of God is redeeming my emotions:

Click on image to download high res version.

• GOD IS GRACIOUS

God is gracious because he is generous of heart. How generous is he? He saves us when we don’t deserve it and sacrificed his perfect Son to do so.

Because we’ve seen, touched, and tasted His grace, we can extend grace to others (See Eph. 2:1-10). As a mom, we demonstrate grace, not out of our own ability, but because God has changed us from the inside.

I’ve discovered the days I struggle with my anger the most are the days when I am ungenerous with my time and schedule.

I’m less likely to overlook my children’s small infractions when I’m stressed meeting a deadline. I’m more likely to lose my cool, when discipline and correction intrude on my attempts to relax or ‘veg out.’

 

• GOD IS COMPASSIONATE

Compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another.

Mothers can sometimes get compassion all mixed up. At one extreme, we tell our kids to ‘buck up’ or ‘shake it off’ when they come to us with problems. And at the other end of the spectrum, we coddle them in unhealthy emotional ways.

Biblical compassion avoids both of these destructive extremes.

Biblical compassion is selfless. Unhealthy compassion is motivated by personal gain or convenience. It is almost as if David wrote Ps. 145:8-9 for mothers who struggle to relate to their children as God relates to his.

The Hebrew word for compassion (racham) comes from the root word for womb. It expresses a parent’s compassion toward their children. Particularly, “this deep emotion seeks expression in aggressive acts of selfless sacrifice.”[1]

 

• GOD IS SLOW TO ANGER

When Scripture says God is slow to anger, it is not denying His wrath. God’s wrath against sin is needed because it points us to our need of salvation! However, because God is gracious and merciful he is slow to become angry with us.

The Hebrew uses a funny little idiom to illustrate this – it says God is long-nosed.[2] It paints the picture of God pausing to take a few deep breaths before dealing with his sinful and rebellious kids.

God doesn’t expect mothers to be devoid of great emotion like anger or grief. But God does desire us to be patient in expressing our emotions. When anger rules our hearts, it rules our responses to our children.

 

• GOD IS MERCIFUL

When God shows mercy, he does so in tangible ways. He forgives us when we don’t deserve to be forgiven. [3]

The word merciful in your text might be translated love or lovingkindness. In the Hebrew, it’s the rich term hesed – a word that incorporates all of God’s positive qualities. More importantly, hesed is a covenant term. It is only through God’s mercy (love, lovingkindess) that you and I can hope to be freed from sin and restored to a relationship with Him.

So, it’s not surprising that those who struggle with anger probably have a corresponding lack of mercy. I know I do. My husband and I try to incorporate reconciliation as part of our discipline process. We recognize the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation because we’ve been forgiven much. But, I have to remind myself that I’m not showing mercy – the kind that is an unmerited gift – when I continue to ‘punish’ my kids with a bad attitude toward them the rest of the day.

Going through the motions of discipline doesn’t count for anything unless it is also accompanied by mercy.

Psalm 145 reveals God is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mercy. This passage shows us that God’s character has huge implications for the roles we bear as parent and mother. Look at the result of God’s character in verse 9: The Lord is good to all,  And His tender mercies are over all His works.”

God is good to us, moms. His “tender mercies” are at work in our lives.

In giving us our little ones, he has given us a chance to become more like him. And although David didn’t intend to write a passage on God’s anger management plan for moms, his words resonate where you and I find ourselves.

This is our hope: God promises to change our hearts.

Moms, if you struggle with anger, put today’s printable in a visible place and begin to commit it to memory. Ask God to work in your life to ‘put off’ selfish interests and ‘put on’ His character instead.

Did you miss any posts or printables in the series on Psalm 145? Here they are!