It’s amazing how when frustrations of life hit us our first reaction is to think that God is mad at us as if He just flies off the handle for no apparent reason. Thankfully, that feeling is ungrounded, the flames of which need to be quenched by the truth of the word of God.
The Bible does speak of God’s anger as expressed in His anger toward the wicked which we can understand when we contemplate man’s utter contempt toward God and His revealed truth.
Psalm 7:11 (KJV) — 11 God judgeth the righteous, And God is angry with the wicked every day.
Psalm 58:3–5 (ESV) — 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
Genesis 6:5 (ESV) — 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
If not for the grace of God, there go we all, deserving of God’s wrath in this life and the life to come.
Ephesians 2:1–7 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
What then is hard to comprehend is the anger that God’s people experience, even though it is tempered by His grace, nevertheless, His anger is real. If we will take note of what the scriptures teach, we will be able to properly interpret times when we feel like He is mad at us, and take comfort in knowing the cause of such anger as well as the grace that is ours when we are overwhelmed with such a feeling.
First consider the overwhelming attributes of God and the standard to which God holds Himself as declared in His word:
Psalm 145:8 (ESV) — 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Psalm 103:8–14 (ESV) — 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
Secondly, you will find that His anger does exist toward His people when they persist in doing things that He has made it clear they should not do or when they fail to do the things that He has made it clear that they should do. In other words, His anger is stirred for a brief moment from being grieved over our persistence in the way of sin and rebellion. That brief moment may seem like a lifetime as we bear the consequences of our mutiny but even that is tempered by His grace as He lets us know that those He loves He also chastens with the purpose of conforming us to Christ.
Psalm 30:5 (ESV) — 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Galatians 6:7–8 (ESV) — 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Joshua 7:1 (ESV) — 1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
1 Chronicles 13:10 (ESV) — 10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.
Hebrews 12:7–8 (ESV) — 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
1 Peter 1:6–7 (ESV) — 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
How then shall we feel when we sense His anger?
- Examine our ways and confess and repent of the things we see are not in keeping with His word either in action or attitude.
- Accept His chastisement which is often the consequence of our sin, albeit tempered by His love for us, knowing that we deserve far worse.
- As in all afflictions in life, focus on the fact that if it wasn’t necessary for our good – it wouldn’t be.
- Focus on glorifying Him, which is our responsibility in every situation in life.
There are those with whom God is angry for their never-ending rebellious attitude toward Him and His word. There are those whose hearts have been changed by God who desire to please Him but from time to time display a stubborn streak with which God must deal so that they will know they belong to Him and so that He can be gracious in lavishing grace upon grace.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker
