He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. – Psalm 103:9

Today's Scripture Reading (September 4, 2025): Psalm 103

I like to read lists. I don't know why, I just do. In school, I loved to memorize them, and with many teachers, I found that if I knew the lists they would teach, I often had no problem passing one of their exams. So, I still read lists. Recently, one list that I spent some time on described the things that mentally strong people never do. Most of the items I could honestly say that I avoid, but there were a couple of points where I had to admit that I failed, like finding it easy to say "no."

However, I would argue that not everything on the list was equally weighted, and a couple of the more important traits of the mentally strong are not holding onto anger and refusing to spend a lot of time dwelling on the past. Or maybe they are just things that hit my pet peeve list. I have known many people, including some bosses, who seem to hold onto their anger forever. I have gotten onto some of these anger lists, and once you are there, it is almost impossible to get off. I know some political leaders who govern the same way. These are the last people that you want in any position of leadership over you. The other important characteristic of mentally strong people is related to the avoidance of long-term anger; mentally strong people refuse to dwell on the past. As I get older, I have to admit that I am invited to several get-togethers, and one of the things that frustrates me is that these gatherings always seem to focus on past glory days. I get it, and I don't mind a little, but I don't have the time or desire to sit and sip a drink while talking about things that happened two or three decades ago. These are things that I really try to avoid.

David says that his God does not always accuse, nor does He hold onto His anger. God does not go around heaven with a list of our sins, reminding us of all the ways that we have failed in our lives. It is more often something that we do. I frequently try to remind people that David in this Psalm reminds us that God "knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14) and that He has separated "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). God already knows our weakness and struggles; he knows that we have been made from dust. So, he does not waste time remembering our past. And even better, he has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. So, not only should we not remember the sins for which we have already repented, but God doesn't remember them either.

God does not always accuse. In the dark of night, when all our sins seem to come crashing back on us, it is unlikely that God is reminding us of our failures; instead, we are remembering the very things that should be forgotten, because God has separated those sins from us as far as possible. And God's anger is short; it does not last forever. If we could only remember that in those dark moments of the night when our guilt comes crashing in.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 109