Experiencing God's Anger

Psalms 30:5 "For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime."

Some people picture God as eternally angry. He's so mad at sinners that he has fire in his eyes and lightning bolts coming out of his hands. He's so upset that he just can't wait to bring calamity on us and takes some sadistic pleasure in our pain.

Nothing could be further from the truth. God hates evil, that's true. There's a good reason for that: God is good and evil is bad. And who is the best judge of what is evil, us or God? For us to judge ultimately what is good or bad is like trying to describe a football game while viewing it from the bottom of a swimming pool. Water distorts our perspective, and so does living in a world already tainted by evil. Only God, who lives outside of that sin can accurately judge good from evil.

So anyway - back to my main point. Though God is actually a loving God he really does hate evil. And when we choose to do evil we can experience God's anger. It comes in the form of discipline. We experience difficulties and think God is punishing us. Actually he is trying to burn the evil out of us.

And like a parent who disciplines his or her child, God longs for the loving embrace after the tears have subsided. His anger lasts but a moment, but thanks to His mercy and grace found in Jesus Christ, his favor lasts for a lifetime. Rejoice in that today!

Pastor Tom