God Is Not Mad At You

Joyce Meyer

• Publisher: Hodder Faith
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781444749984
• eBook ISBN: 9781444749977
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

When Joyce Meyer posted 'God's not mad at you' on Facebook a few months ago, she didn't realise that those five words would trigger thousands of posts of gratitude and relief. She had obviously hit a nerve. 'Where does this concept of God come from?' she asks in the introduction. 'Perhaps from an angry parent who was difficult to please. Or the pain of rejection from parents or friends who didn't know how to give unconditional love. Perhaps it came from the church! From religious teaching that offered us rules and regulations to follow and implied that we'd be unacceptable to God if we didn't follow them.'It's a paradox that isn't often discussed by Christian teachers: God loved the world so much that He gave His son to rescue mankind. Yet we tend to think of Him as a stern judge who is ready to punish us at the slightest mis-step. In God Is Not Mad At You, Joyce examines the sources of this mixed message and untangles the confusion that most Christians experience. Chapter titles include: Perfectionism and ApprovalThe Pain of RejectionGuilt and ShameDeveloping Your PotentialRun To God, Not From HimGetting Comfortable with GodJoyce's latest book addresses a need that isn't often discussed within the Christian community: the need to see God as the loving parent that He is, not a petty tyrant who is ready to pounce at the first opportunity. It will help to clarify for readers one of the greatest misconceptions within the church and free them to experience His love on an entirely new level.

CHAPTER 1

Is God Angry?

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

Psalm 103:8–9

A woman I know tells a story about the time she burnt out the engine of her father’s car, which he had loaned her when she was in college. It was the end of semester break, and she was going to head back to school on the bus, a seven-hour ride with a lot of stops on the way. Ellen had been given a lot of Christmas gifts that were bulky, including a down-filled comforter and a new desktop computer. Her dad told her that rather than deal with so many big items on the bus, she could drive his car back to school and return it the next time she came home for a visit. What a gift!

The trip back to college was a breeze. Ellen parked the car in a safe spot and planned to drive home and return it within a few weeks. In the meantime, every now and then she’d drive to the grocery store or the mall. Pretty soon, she was taking her friends on short trips here and there just for fun.

On one of those trips, Ellen noticed a red light blinking on the dashboard. She didn’t think it was anything serious; after all, her father took great care of the car and it was in good condition. She just kept driving.

Soon she noticed some smoke coming out of the hood and decided she’d better get the car back to campus. Next came a few loud sputters, and then the engine died. When the tow-truck driver arrived, it didn’t take him long to figure out the problem: That red light on the dash was an oil indicator. Ellen had neglected to check out the light, and now the engine was beyond repair.

A few days later, when her father arrived (in his remaining car) and she met him at the gas station where the car had been towed, Ellen was terrified. She had abused a privilege and ignored a simple warning. There was no excuse for her neglect, and now she’d destroyed her father’s car. She knew he was furious, and there was no defense for her behavior. Ellen told her father how sorry she was for her carelessness, but he just told her to sit in the car while he assessed the damage.

After learning that the car was now worthless, Ellen’s father arranged for the gas station to dispose of it. He actually had to pay them to take it off his hands! Now it was time for Ellen to face his wrath.

As they drove away from the trashed car, her father asked Ellen, “Where’s the best restaurant in town?” That was the last thing she’d expected to hear, but she directed him to it. As they sat at the table and looked at the menu, Ellen couldn’t think about food. Fortunately, her father ordered for both of them: broiled trout almondine. They sat in silence while they waited for their food, every minute feeling like an hour.

When the trout arrived, Ellen’s father said to her, “Tonight I want to teach you a lesson that you’ll never forget.” She knew she deserved whatever she got. Would he make her pay him for the car? That would take forever. Would he yell at her? Maybe he would just tell her how disappointed he was in her. In some ways, that would be the worst punishment.

Then he took his knife and fork in hand and said, “I’m going to teach you how to remove the skeleton from cooked trout.” Not a word was said about the car that night—or ever again.

Ellen’s father had been angry about her behavior—who wouldn’t be? But he also knew that Ellen had learned her lesson without retribution from him. Ellen is nearly sixty now, and her father died many years ago. But she tells this story as if it happened last week, and she is still in awe of her father’s forgiveness. His grace made a greater impact on her than his punishment ever would have.

God’s Word says that He behaves the same way toward us that Ellen’s father did toward her.

The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

To be sure, there are many examples in the Bible of our heavenly Father getting angry, but that does not mean that He is an angry God. He does at times get angry at sin, disobedience and rebellion. But He is slow to anger, abundant in mercy and always ready to forgive. All of our sins—past, present and future—have already been forgiven. This took place when Jesus died on the cross. All we need to do is believe it and receive it any time we fail. Ask and receive that your joy may be full (John 16:24). Don’t make the mistake of spending your life believing that God is mad at you, when the forgiveness you need is available at all times. Speak freely with God about your sins. He already knows all about them, but bringing them out into the open and letting nothing remain hidden between you and God is very liberating. It is awesome to realize that we can talk freely to God about absolutely anything and that He understands and does not judge us. That doesn’t mean that He approves of sinful behavior, but He does understand the weakness in our flesh (Hebrews 4:15–16), and His power enables us to overcome it.

There are many instances recorded in the Bible of God’s anger blazing against the Israelites because of their complaining, disobedience, and worship of idols and false gods. But the amazing thing to me is how quick God was to completely forgive them and restore all of His benefits to them as soon as they turned away from their wickedness and back to Him.

This happened over and over again throughout the Old Testament. It is truly astonishing how often Israel served God and enjoyed His abundant blessings and then turned away in rebellion and disobedience to worship idols and to please their own selves. It is even more astonishing how quickly and freely God took them back, forgave them and restored them to their former prosperity when they turned back to Him with sincere and repentant hearts. It is very evident from the history of these people, who were God’s chosen ones, that He is faithful and always ready to forgive and restore.

Perhaps you think that God is angry with you. Surely, if God was quick to forgive people who turned entirely away from Him and worshipped idols, He is more than ready to forgive you and me for our sins.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

Psalm 103:12–14

We are reminded in these Scripture verses that God understands our weaknesses. He knows that we will at times succumb to temptations and wrong behavior, but He is also a compassionate, loving Father who stands ready to forgive everything. The very fact that we cannot do everything right is why God sent Jesus to pay the price for our redemption.

Hosea Marries a Harlot

The story of the prophet Hosea is an extraordinary picture of God’s amazing love and deep commitment to the children of Israel. God commanded Hosea to marry a harlot named Gomer and to have children with her. This was intended to be a living example to the Israelites of God’s faithfulness in the face of their unfaithfulness.

Hosea and Gomer had three children who were named by God. Their names were prophetic. In other words, they were intended to be a message for the children of Israel. The first was named Jezreel, which signified God’s judgment on the ruling king Jeroboam. The second was named Lo-Ruhamah, meaning “not pitied,” which conveyed the message that God was about to withdraw His mercy from Israel. The third child was named Lo-Ammi and it meant “Not-my-people.” The names of these children were a prophetic reminder to Israel that God was displeased with their unfaithfulness.

Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, and her infidelity was a symbol of Israel’s unfaithfulness to her covenant relationship with God. Instead of responding to God’s goodness with love and gratitude, the Israelites used the crops God had blessed them with as offerings to idols. They were unfaithful to God just as Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea.

Even though Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, God commanded him to take her back again and love her.

Then said the Lord to me, Go again, love [the same] woman [Gomer] who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins [used in the sacrificial feasts in idol worship].

Hosea 3:1

This was intended to show God’s commitment and everlasting love for His people. Although God was angry at the Israelites for their amazingly stupid behavior, He never stopped loving them. He intended to deal with them in a way that would eventually draw them back to Him. So we see that even in our sin, God devises ways to draw us back into a loving relationship with Him. God is not ever going to give up on us!

Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!

Hosea 12:6

All God required in order to restore the Israelites’ relationship with Him was for them to return to Him and repent of their iniquity. He wanted them to be sorry for what they had done, turn away from their sin and turn back to Him.

If you have served God at some time and walked away from Him to have an affair with the world, surely this story gives you hope that God is waiting with open arms to receive you back. Yes, God does get angry, but His nature is to forgive and restore.

God’s Anger Is Different from Ours

When we get angry with people, it is usually because they did something to us that we don’t like, or they didn’t do something we believe they should have. Our anger is always due to someone hurting us. When God gets angry, it is not because of what we are doing to Him. It is because of what we are doing to ourselves by not following His ways. You might even say that His anger is for us, not against us. God’s love is everlasting, and even His anger and displeasure are intended to drive us away from sin and back to Him.

Although we often resist God’s commandments because we think they are hard to follow or will prevent us from doing what we want to do, we are wrong. Everything that God commands us to do—or not to do—is for our good. Our obedience to Him will give us the life we truly desire. The Bible is a record of how blessed people are when they follow God, and how miserable and wretched they are when they don’t. God said it very simply in His Word:

If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.

Deuteronomy 28:1–2

We don’t need to chase blessings, because they will chase us if we will simply do what God asks us to do. Most people are so busy chasing blessings and trying to obtain what they think they want out of life that they fail to obey God. Their actions are counterproductive and will never produce the result they desire. If we will put God first in our lives, He will add all the things we need and desire (Matthew 6:33).

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

Deuteronomy 28:15

In the Scriptures above we see the law of sowing and reaping in operation. Follow God and reap good things; rebel against God and reap a harvest of bad things. The extraordinary, good news, though, is that if you have sown bad seed (disobedience), you need not be afraid, because all you need to do is begin sowing good seed (obedience) and you will see God’s goodness in your life.

I know a young man who is eighteen years old, who was raised in a good Christian home, but has chosen to go his own way and do every wrong thing that he can possibly do. It almost seems that he is bent on self-destruction but is oblivious to what he is doing. His parents are not angry with him; they are sad for him. They are angry at the evil that has persuaded him to go in the wrong direction, but they are praying and waiting for his return to God and to them. With a few sincere words of repentance from him, they will receive him back without reproach or condemnation. If a parent can do that, how much more can our perfect God do it!

You don’t have to live in fear that God is mad at you! Look away from your sinful behavior and look to God instead.

A Bigger Problem Than Sin?

I think Scripture proves that our unbelief is a much larger problem than our sins. Sin can always be forgiven for those who will repent and believe, but when unbelief exists, God’s hands are tied when it comes to helping us.

The Word of God teaches that it will be done to us according to how we believe. In other words, when I believe that God is angry with me because of my imperfections, no matter how much He loves me and wants to forgive and restore me, I will not receive it because I don’t believe it.

Our unbelief is a tragedy when it comes to God’s good plan for our lives. He longs for us to believe Him, to come to Him with simple childlike faith and trust what He says to us in His Word.

God called Moses to bring deliverance to His people. It was actually something that Moses had longed for, yet when God finally said the time had come for Moses to act, he refused to believe that he could do what God was asking him to do. Moses made one excuse after another until finally the Bible records that God’s anger “blazed against Moses” (Exodus 4:14).

Simply put, God got angry because Moses would not believe! He eventually did obey God, and of course God was faithful.

We learn from the apostle Paul in the book of Hebrews that the Israelites were never allowed to enter God’s rest as they traveled through the wilderness due to their hardness of heart and refusal to believe His promises. Unbelief makes us miserable and steals every blessing that God desires for us. It also makes God angry. He so much wants us to be blessed in every way that when we do things that prevent His blessings, it makes Him angry. It is a holy anger, not a selfish anger as we experience in our humanity. It is important for us to remember that God’s anger is directed toward our sinful behavior rather than toward us. I may hate something one of my children does, but I always love my child.

If you feel guilty right now and are afraid that God is mad at you, then you are miserable. But...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Is God Angry?
• Chapter 2: Performance Mentality
• Chapter 3: Perfectionism and Approval
• Chapter 4: The Anxiety and Anger of the Perfectionist
• Chapter 5: Father Issues
• Chapter 6: The Pain of Rejection
• Chapter 7: Learning to See Clearly
• Chapter 8: Guilt and Shame
• Chapter 9: Religion
• Chapter 10: Sad, Mad, or Glad?
• Chapter 11: Be the Person God Meant You to Be
• Chapter 12: Developing Your Potential
• Chapter 13: Mercy Is Greater Than Anger
• Chapter 14: Mercy Can Never Be Earned
• Chapter 15: Amazing Grace
• Chapter 16: Greater Grace
• Chapter 17: Run to God, Not from Him!
• Chapter 18: What Shall We Do About Sin?
• Chapter 19: Getting Comfortable with God
• Chapter 20: Spiritual Growth
• Other Books by Joyce