From Anger to Healing

Jesus was at worship one day and a man showed up whose hand was withered. The religious leaders looked on to see if Jesus would violate the sabbath by healing - and oh, did that upset Jesus. Here’s the key verse:

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. - Mark 3:5

Jesus was hot with anger. He stared them down (isn’t that what ‘He looked around at them in anger’ means?). And then he channeled all that energy into healing.

Just think about that: Jesus turned a corner from anger to healing. That’s not often how we handle our anger. Instead, we explode or perhaps we repress or maybe we get sarcastic or even stomp off. But redirecting that energy into something helpful and healthy and good - that’s remarkable.

Take a few moments today to ponder what it might look like to channel some of your anger energy into healing.