Before we can discover the answer to this, we first need to understand why we think God is mad at us in the first place?
Did you know that there is a God and there is a devil? The devil is the father of all lies (John 8:44) which means that he will tell you lie after lie about what God thinks about you. Not only will he make up lies but he will often use the Bible and twist the meaning of it. Let me show you an example.
In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness to fast for forty days. During that time, Jesus was approached by the devil and he tried to tempt Jesus by twisting scripture. Take a look:
"Then the devil taketh [Jesus] up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Matthew 4:5-7 KJV, brackets mine
The devil was quoting from Psalm chapter 91 which says,
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." Psalm 91:11-12 KJV
Why Do We Think God Is Mad At Us?
You're probably wondering, why does this matter? Satan tried to trick Jesus into thinking that "at any time" angels will protect you from danger. But, according to Psalm 91, you cannot just do whatever you want in life and expect divine protection. The very beginning of Psalm 91 says that in order for these angels to have charge over you and protect you from danger is if you are actively dwelling in the secret place of the most high. You cannot just be doing whatever you want, living however you want, and expect supernatural protection. Jesus knew this and the way He responded is the way we all need to respond to the lies of the devil especially when he tries to use scripture against us. You must reply with, "it is written." If Jesus wouldn't have known what the scriptures really said, who knows what would've happened.
Just like Jesus, you need to know exactly what scripture says about God and His heart towards you!
1. Sin
The biggest lie that Satan will use to get you discouraged about God's heart towards you is sin. Sin is horrible and stupid to do and you're stupid for living in sin, but God loves you, stupid.
"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Proverbs 6:16-19 KJV
"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity" Psalm 5:5 KJV
It's pretty clear that God hates sin. As I said, sin is stupid to the 10th power and God hates it. But did you know that God already dealt with sin forever? He already judged the sins of the whole world. Satan will use sin to keep you discouraged. He will remind you of these scriptures and tell you, "God can't love a sinner like you", "you're too far away from God for Him to love you", "you have to confess every single sin you have ever committed before God can accept you". Those are all lies.
2. Not Being "Good Enough"
When the enemy uses sin as a barricade between you and God's love for you, it always results in you thinking that you're not good enough. Some people will use this and try to earn God's love and work their way into Heaven. They think that doing good deeds or giving to the poor will earn them a good spot in God's Kingdom but the end results are always negative. This is what Romans 3:23 says about being "good enough",
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23 KJV
It's not a matter of being good enough because, in God's eyes, we will never be good enough through our own deeds and works. At some point or another, all of us have fallen short of the goal God placed before us. God requires perfection, not good enough. Pretend with me that you are trying out to be on an elite basketball team. This team was the cream of the crop –– the bee's knees. All it took for you to be on the team was to dunk the ball in the basket. Easy enough right? Well, what you don't know is that the basket is 50 feet in the air. I know what you're thinking, IMPOSSIBLE! This is like God's goal to enter His Kingdom. No one can reach this goal just like no one can dunk that ball into the basket. It doesn't matter how hard you've worked or how good of a person you are, we have all fallen short and the only way we can make it on the team is by having a good relationship with the captain of the team, Jesus.
3. An Old Testament Mentality
Just because you might know some scripture, it doesn't mean that it is right. Let me explain. Most people relate to God through the Old Testament. They see how God was angry at sin and many times struck down His wrath on people who would mess up. The last thing they want to happen is God do that to them so what do they do? They default to the law of Moses. As long as they can follow the law of Moses, they should be fine with God, right? Wrong! If you only have an Old Testament mindset, you're not going to understand what Jesus did for you.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17 KJV
Although the law is in the Bible, it was incomplete. This isn't to say we don't respect and follow the law. Without laws, the world would be even more chaotic than it is with laws. We need the law to show us right from wrong, but what we need first and foremost is what Jesus brought –– grace and truth. The truth is, you are a no-good, dirty, rotten, stinky sinner and the only way to be on God's good side is by being perfect. The grace was named Jesus. He became sin for you. Your no-good, dirty, rotten, stinky sin was placed on Him and you became "the righteousness of God." How does that make you feel? Let me ask you, was this something that you did/earned, or was this something that was given to you freely? The Old Testament mindest says that it is something that you earned, but "grace" literally means, "unmerited, undeserved favor." You don't deserve what Jesus did for you but He still did it.
Now, why would a God who is angry at you do this? Something isn't adding up here.
4. Relating God To An Earthly Father
My dad is by far the greatest dad in the world and my father-in-law is by far the greatest father-in-law in the world. They love and support us, they care for us, and they want the very best for us. But, even though I think they are the greatest, they still do not compare to my Heavenly Father. Compared to God, they are "evil" –– sorry dads. Jesus said it not me! Both Matthew and Luke's accounts of the Gospel record what Jesus said about our Heavenly Father versus our earthly parents.
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 NKJV
When I was a senior in high school my parents bought me my first real car. To this day I still drive it because it has been blessed and works perfectly. I say first "real" car because the very first car I had was beaten up by my sister before she passed it down to me. It was a disaster on wheels. But, I was still blessed to have a car in the first place.
They had bought me a white 2011 Mazda 3! It is my favorite car. The best part is, they paid it off and I had no monthly car payment.
Before Stephanie and I got married, her parents bought her a car. Can you guess what kind? It was another Mazda 3! A different year and different color but the same model. They wanted us to have a "his and hers" set of cars. And the best part was, no monthly payment! Somebody say, "blessed."
I don't say any of this to boast about us but about the generosity of both of my parents (paternal and in-laws). But, even with their goodness and their love for us, the Bible still considers them "evil" compared to the love and goodness of our Heavenly Father. Our parents love us so much and want the best for us, it always encouraged me to know that God loves us more.
Some people don't have this type of relationship with their parents, especially their father. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.3 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. That is so sad. Because of this, many children grow up not understanding the concept of a Heavenly Father. Some people grew up with fathers that were verbally and physically abusive or addicted to drugs and alcohol.
The enemy specializes in these situations. He will get you to believe the lie that if an earthly father didn't love you, how can a God that you can't see do? There are many times where an earthly parent will punish children for misbehaving and they will think about God that way. "God is teaching me a lesson because I sinned." I used to think that way! God does correct and teach us but did you know that it is drastically different than the way our parents discipline and correct us? God isn't going to spank you or send you to your room like a parent would and should. God corrects us through His Word.
Our Heavenly Father and our earthly father are two completely different fathers. Although our earthly fathers need to strive to be more and more like God every day, they will never truly compare to how good God really is. My fathers have done a great job and I am so blessed to have them in my life because they have shown me a glimpse of the love from my Heavenly Father. But, we cannot try to relate God and how He deals with us with how we see our earthly fathers.
So, Is God Mad At Me?
Now that we have discovered why we often think God is mad at us, we can finally figure out the question, "Is God mad at me?"
ABSOLUTELY NOT! There is no reason for God to be mad at you! You might have sinned yesterday or the day before or maybe you sinned right before this and the Lord brought this to your attention, and you're thinking, How is God not mad at me if He hates sin?
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10 NKJV
What this verse is saying is, Jesus became the propitiation for our sins! In other words, Jesus satisfied the wrath of God against our sins. The only real reason why God should be mad at you is because of the sins you have committed. But, if Jesus became your sins and experienced the wrath of God (Isaiah 53:4-6), what wrath will God use on us? Jesus satisfied the wrath of God!
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Romans 5:8-9 NKJV
If this doesn't light your fire, then your wood is wet! Notice how the scripture says that we "were still sinners". This means that we are no longer sinners anymore! The word "justified" was translated in Greek, "to render righteous or such he ought to be." You aren't a sinner saved by grace but you are the righteousness of God through Jesus! Amen!
Even though we still sin in our physical bodies, the spirit that Jesus put on the inside of us is 100% sinless and that is the way God looks at us (John 4:24).
God Wants To Bless You
Because you are perfect in the eyes of God and there is no wrath that is coming your way, God has blessed you with all spiritual blessings on the inside of you!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
Notice how God has already blessed us. It was a done deal the moment Jesus satisfied the wrath of God when He died on the cross in your place. How amazing is that? If God were truly mad at you, why would He bless you with all spiritual blessings? Did you know that the word "all" in the Greek means, "all"? Every single spiritual blessing is yours.
Maybe you're someone who hasn't been experiencing these blessings so you think that God is mad at you. I want to let you in on a little secret. Even though you have all spiritual blessings inside of you, it doesn't mean you are using them.
"[I pray that] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." Ephesians 1:18 NKJV, brackets mine
This was Paul's prayer towards the church of Ephesus. He said that if the eyes of their understanding were enlightened, they would know about all of these spiritual blessings. You have all of these blessings inside of you but you might have not been aware of them in the first place! Now that you know that they are in you, this is my prayer for you, that your understanding would be enlightened so that you may know and experience the goodness of God and His blessings that He has specifically for you.
Conclusion
God is not mad at you but instead, He loves you and wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. When you stop letting traditions of religion tell you what God thinks about you and start trusting the Bible, your understanding of who God is will become enlightened and you can then experience all spiritual blessings that God has placed on the inside of you.
I hope you truly see your Heavenly Father for who He really is. He's not mad at you. He's not even in a bad mood. You are the apple of His eye. The pep in His step. God sacrificed His Son for you. If God could get mad at you, it would be because you think He is mad at you. Why don't you start trusting in Him instead of being afraid of Him?
Maybe you have never received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you think you're too bad of a person to receive God's love. You're wrong. Not only did Jesus die for the sins of those who would follow Him, but He also died for those who are lost. You see, the Bible says that there is this special book in Heaven called the Lamb's Book of Life. This book contains every single person's name that will enter Heaven if they accept the invitation from Jesus. Most people don't realize this but every single person's name that is alive today has their name in this book. Christian or not. The Bible says that in the end, if they do not receive the invitation from Jesus, their name would be erased. The point is, God already has written your name down and He is waiting for your RSVP. God wants to see you in Heaven with Him. Will you make that decision today? I can guarantee you that this would be the best decisions you have ever made and will ever make in your entire life. There is no "special prayer to say" or formula to get to Heaven. All you have to do is believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for you and rose again on the third day, and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord of your life. To help you get started, you can use this sample prayer:
"Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I know that I can do nothing without you. Thank you for coming into my life today. Thank you for forgiving all of my sins. I believe you died for me and that you rose again. I confess that you are my Lord, my Savior, and my best friend. I love you, Jesus. Amen."
And just like that, you are a part of the Kingdom of God! Welcome to the family! The Bible says that when one person becomes saved, the entire angelic host in Heaven throws a huge party. You just made Heaven's day, my friend.
We want to encourage you if you just made that decision to follow Jesus. Click the button below to receive a free gift from us. It will help you get started on this new journey that you are about to embark on!
We love you, continue to live in the victory, and remember that you are always welcome here in our family of faith.
Matthew Ochoa
Comments