OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY
Our Daily Bread for today is here. Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
The word of God is food to the spirit man. “Eat and digest” the word of the Lord for today and let its unchanging power nuture your faith and help in your daily walk to Christ.
The Topic of Our Daily Bread For 17th February 2025 is “Wise Restraint in God”
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28
Memory Verse: Proverbs 29:20
Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
Today’s Scripture & Insight: Proverbs 29:4-11, 20
Proverbs 29 cautions us to restrain and overcome our anger. “The wise turn away anger” (v. 8), whereas “fools give full vent to their rage” (v. 11). An angry person inevitably “stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins” (v. 22). Unrestrained anger resulted in humanity’s first murder. God warned Cain to rein in his anger lest he be consumed by it. Succumbing to his anger, Cain killed his own brother in cold blood (Genesis 4:6-8). Moses, another classic example, killed an Egyptian taskmaster in a moment of rage (Exodus 2:11-12). Years later, angered by the Israelites’ persistent grumblings, Moses disobeyed and dishonored God and unsympathetically disparaged God’s people by striking the rock (Numbers 20:1-13). The psalmist says that “they made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly” (Psalm 106:33 nlt). Indeed, “A quick-tempered person does foolish things” (Proverbs 14:17). Paul warns, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you . . . for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 nlt).
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ODB MESSAGE FOR TODAY
Following the South’s catastrophic loss at Gettysburg in the American Civil War (1863), General Robert E. Lee led his battered troops back to Southern territory. Heavy rains flooded the Potomac River, blocking his retreat. President Abraham Lincoln urged General George Meade to attack. But Meade’s men were just as weary as Lee’s. He rested his troops.
Lincoln picked up his quill and wrote a letter in which he confessed he was “distressed immeasurably” at Meade’s reluctance to pursue Lee. On the envelope are these words in the president’s handwriting: “To Gen. Meade, never sent, or signed.” And indeed, it never was.
Long before Lincoln, another great leader grasped the importance of reining in our emotions. Anger, no matter how justified, is a dangerously powerful force. “Do you see someone who speaks in haste?” King Solomon asked. “There is more hope for a fool than for them” (Proverbs 29:20). Solomon knew that “by justice a king gives a country stability” (v. 4). He also understood that “fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (v. 11).
And in the end, not sending that letter prevented Lincoln from demoralizing his top general, helped win a necessary war, and contributed to the healing of a nation. We do well to learn from examples like his of wise restraint.
Reflect & Pray
Why is it important to cautiously give vent to your emotions? How will you do this the next time you’re angry?
Father, I give my emotions to You so that Your Spirit will help me avoid speaking in haste.
Our Daily Bread 2025 Devotional is written by Con Campbell and published by Our Daily Bread Ministries. Read more
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