Is God Mad at Me?

 Is God Mad at Me?

What a strong question that one is. Does God get mad at us? Does He write us off after some slight mistake, sin, forgetfulness moment, or if our check book gets out of balance?

Let me tell you about a conversation I had.

Cindy and I were talking one day at work, and she was complimenting me on some of my blogs that she had read recently. I casually asked her what she thought of God, and here is what she said.

“Oh, He’s kind, and loving, and forgiving, and my best friend.”

I stopped her at that point and said, “That’s all well and good, but what do you really think about God?’

She paused a moment and then said, “I think God is mad at me.”
Oh, my. What a statement. I asked questions and she filled in the blanks.

“One day, I was cooking spaghetti and had a large skillet of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. My ten-year-old daughter, Jenny, came into the kitchen and grabbed the handle of the skillet and poured the spaghetti all over her body. She screamed in pain and blisters began popping out all over her body. God must hate me for that to have happened to Jenny.”

I sent up one of those quick prayers for immediate help and wisdom and then answered.

“Oh, Cindy. No, no, no. God is not mad at you. Jenny was an innocent girl, whose curiosity got in the way, and she just happened to pull the handle of the pot down upon her body. God didn’t make her do that, and God is certainly not mad at you. Oh, please believe me. I could never in my wildest imagination picture a God who would do something like that.”

We can assign to God some strange and interesting acts, but is God really at fault?

The simple answer ... we humans have a will, and we get to make choices. That is our greatest power, and one that God will never take from us nor override in our lives. We Chose!

The great news is this: God is not mad at us.

God is not an ogre. He is not looking for us to step out of line just even a little bit so He can zap us. And He’s not looking for the smallest of reasons to put us in time out.

The most famous Bible verse of all time is John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, And whoever believes in Him shall be saved.”

God loves the world. That means any evil person you might name, your contrary neighbor who puts his garbage can in the middle of your driveway, that customer that is always snarly and never smiles, and your curious daughter who just might happen to pull a pot of hot spaghetti sauce onto her head. God loves us! A reminder ... God never promises to keep bad things from happening to us, but He does promise to be with us in the middle of the bad things.

Remember what I wrote 2 paragraphs above? God is not an ogre. I want to borrow this thought from Ann Lamont and her great little book Help ... Thanks ... Wow.

“Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union, even if we are bitter or insane or broken. (In fact, these are probably the best possible conditions under which to pray.) Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up. The opposite may be true. We may not be able to get it together until after we show up in such miserable shape.

You see, in my 73 years of living, I have rarely had it all together. I’ve had moments of brilliant spiritual living, and I’ve had the dogdays and months and perhaps years of missing the mark, falling short, stepping out of line,

and wanting my own way. And all through the good and the bad, God never stopped loving me. He never, to my knowledge, got mad at me, and he never caused a bad thing to happen to bring me back into line.

I’ve caused bad things to happen because of my choices. I’ve acted foolishly, said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and treated others with less than grace and love, but never has God gotten mad at me.

I’ve disappointed God. Oh my, don’t let me count the ways.

And His love keeps on flowing down to me. His grace and mercy are ever present and abundant in my life.

Are you wanting to blame somebody for the bad that happens in your life? Don’t blame God. Blame Joe, my neighbor. He’s not doing anything worthwhile. He cusses, he goes to places he shouldn’t, and he drives like a mad man. Blame Joe. He’s not doing anything.

Look at this amazing verse:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us; that we should
be called children of God! And that is what we are!
I John 3:1

Again, the question: Is God mad at me? Not in a million years.
But He does love you with furious love!

Internet Church
P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration