“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall
we be saved from God's wrath through Him!” (Romans
5:9)
One night, having just fallen asleep, I heard a voice telling me “God is not mad! “ I don’t mean that I heard a voice outside of myself, and yet, I definitely opened my eyes to see if there was anyone else in the room! Reassured that I was still alone in my bedroom, I was puzzled. I hadn’t gone to bed thinking that God was mad; truth be told, I hadn’t gone to bed thinking about God at all. I said, “OK, God, I’m not sure why you are telling me that, because I hadn’t gone to bed thinking that you were mad, but still, I’m glad to know that You aren’t.” Then I went back to sleep.
Soon, the same voice that was not audible but so
clear and distinct in my head, woke me with the same message: “God is not
mad!”
I am embarrassed and ashamed to say that I was just a little frustrated. I had gone to bed early because I was so tired, and now I kept getting awakened, and I hadn’t even been worried about God being mad. What was going on? Still, the voice was so strong and emphatic, I started to think about that concept…God is not mad…God is not mad…He isn’t mad at me…He isn’t mad at you…He isn’t mad at us…God is not mad…” and once again, I went back to sleep.
The voice awoke me for the third time. By this time, I guess He felt like He had to spell it out for me: “God is not mad. Tell the people, ‘God is not mad.’ Tell the people I am not mad at them.” As I heard these words, I now also felt the Lord’s compassion for His people, for us. He wants us to know He loves us; He wants us to know He isn’t mad at us. It is important to Him that we know.
This time
I did receive the message, and I lay there for a long while, letting that
message soak into me. So many of us struggle with accepting God’s love, because
we feel or think He is mad at us. We struggle to make it on our own, because
we’re afraid to ask for help. We’re afraid we will get a lecture or a, “You got
yourself into this, you deserve to suffer” response. We settle for lack in our
lives, because we think we are being punished. We feel like the anxious, rebellious
teenager who would rather do anything than to go home and face the angry,
disappointed parent.
We know
that God is holy, righteous, and just; we know He hates sin. And we know that
we continue to sin. Even if we are Christians, we may still believe God is mad
at us, because we know we are not living sinless lives. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that none of us can fulfill the standard
of perfection that God requires, and to fail in one part of the law is to fail
in all.
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
“But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from his wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.” Romans
5:8-10
Even while we were lost in our sin, enemies of all that was holy, God Himself provided the solution.
Jesus, the Son of God, gave up His divine power and authority to come to earth as a man. Although He was sinless, He took all of our sin and all of us upon Himself. Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, became sin, and bore God's wrath that rightfully belonged upon us.
Why would God do that? Why would God the Father allow His Son to suffer in our place?
Because He was so mad at us? Because He wanted to punish us, pour out His wrath upon us? That, obviously, makes absolutely no sense; for it was God Himself who paid the price for our sin!
It was His love for us, not His wrath against us, even in our fallen and sinful state, that led Jesus to the cross to suffer the punishment for our sin.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, God is not mad at
you. He loves you.
And, if you are not a Christian, guess what? He isn't mad at you, either! He loves you!
He wants to rescue you, to save you, to adopt you into His own family!
"Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4:20Ø How could it change my life if I knew that God isn’t mad at me?
Ø Do I believe God loves me? Really loves me?
Love, Hugs, and Blessings,
Syandra
Syandra
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Have you believed? If not, choose to believe what the Bible says: God loves you; Jesus took your sins upon Himself on the cross, dying for them; God raised Jesus from the dead. If you believe it, then profess it, confess it, and declare it out loud. Jesus has already done the heavy work; all we are asked to do is believe and receive what He has done for us. Satan offers death. Jesus offers abundant life now and eternal life when we leave our earthly bodies behind. Choose life!
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23, NIV
"He himself (Jesus) bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." I Peter 2:24, NIV
“Salvation is found in no one else (but Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12, NIV
“…If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9, NIV
Sin brought us death. Jesus, through His blood shed for us on the cross, offers us abundant life now and eternal life when we leave our earthly bodies behind. I would love to hear from you when you accept what Jesus has done for you, or if you have questions.
