By Chris WittsMonday 13 Mar 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
On her Facebook page, writer and Christian evangelist Joyce Meyer once typed in these five words: God’s not mad with you. And the response was amazing. In a few hours, thousands of people responded. It seemed she hit a nerve. Many wanted to be sure that God was not mad with them. Why do people think God is angry and mad with them? I’m not sure, but I want to try and look at this fascinating topic. Do you feel that way? You shouldn’t—because the simple answer is: God loves you. He’s not mad with you.
Where does this question come from? Maybe you had a father who was difficult to please, or you had a bad experience at church. If someone had an angry father, it is quite natural to view Father God as angry too. Hopefully you are one of the blessed ones who had an awesome dad, but for many that is not the case.
One of our most urgent needs in life is to feel safe. But children who grow up with angry, absent or abusive fathers often don’t feel safe. They have a feeling of impending doom or danger hanging over them most of the time.
But God is not like people. If your father was absent, you need to know that God will never leave you. And the amazing fact is this. God is not mad at you—he is mad about you. He has this incredible love and compassion for you and me. It is a tender powerful love that never gives up or lets go.
What is our God like?
It seems that most people believe in God—but what kind of God? Where do they get their facts? Sunday school or what their friends say to them? Today the Bible is hardly ever referred to, except on this radio station. It’s quite a tangled subject, and one that many don’t want to engage with. But if you dig a bit, you’ll discover many think God has failed them, forsaken them, or forgotten them. So they just assume God is up there somewhere, shaking his almighty fist in anger.
Psalm 145:8 gives us a great description of God: “You are merciful, Lord. You are kind and patient and always loving.” An older translation says, “The Lord is slow to anger…” This Bible verse declares that God is abounding in mercy and loving-kindness toward us. The word ‘abounding’ means to be present in large numbers or in great quantity; to be fully supplied or filled.
God’s love is eternal. It never runs out. He is not mad at me, and he is not mad at you:
- God is for us, not against us (Romans 8:31)
- He has good plans for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), and
- He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
Sometimes our past experiences shape us in ways we don’t fully understand. Many of us have had difficult or sad upbringings, and that affects everything around us, including our spirituality. I’ve heard people say, “God would never accept me like I am. I’m a bad person”. But if you read the Bible, you’ll discover many men and women who failed in life, yet had a wonderful relationship with God. He forgave them, and restored their life. He picked up the broken pieces. God doesn’t and never will approve of sin, but he loves the sinner. He works with us to achieve happiness and inner contentment.
God does not want to punish us or do anything that would bring us harm and suffering. God created the world for goodness and peace and desires people to experience the joy of fellowship and harmony with God. This theme comes out of the Bible’s pages again and again. He is not out to get you!
Psalm 103:8-11 describes God this way:
The Lord is merciful!
He is kind and patient,
and his love never fails.
The Lord won’t always be angry
and point out our sins;
he doesn’t punish us
as our sins deserve.
How great is God’s love for all
who worship him?
Greater than the distance
between heaven and earth!
When we discover that God is our friend, our life is changed. Jesus came to be our Saviour and as God’s Son showed us what God is like.