Read God Is Not Mad at You: You Can Experience Real Love, Acceptance & Guilt-free Living Online
Authors: Joyce Meyer
Tags: #Religion / Christian Life - Personal Growth, #Religion / Christian Life - Spiritual Growth, #Religion / Christian Life - Inspirational
God Is Not Mad at You: You Can Experience Real Love, Acceptance & Guilt-free Living (19 page)
Elijah is used as an example of a man who had like nature as we have (weak) and yet he prayed for it not to rain and no rain fell on the earth for six months. Then he prayed again, this time for rain, and the heavens supplied rain (James 5:17–18). Elijah’s weak human nature was only referenced to help us understand that even though we are imperfect, we can still boldly approach the throne of God and pray effective prayers.
I implore you to receive the great and abundant mercy of God, stop looking back and enjoy an effective partnership with God. He needs us to be strong in Him, not weak and ineffective in our sins and failures. God has much to do yet on the earth. And He intends to work through His people. Don’t miss the part He wants you to do because you are so focused on the past that you miss what God has for you right now.
One sin is as easy for God to forgive as another. All of our sins, past, present and future, were paid for when Jesus died on the cross. There is no sin so bad that God cannot forgive it completely, but not all sin is equal in regard to the effect it has on us, and our lives.
A person may lose her temper and say or do something she regrets; she can admit her failure, receive mercy and move on quickly. A person may commit adultery and destroy his family and still be just as easily forgiven, but it may take him more time to fully recover because of the damage that has been done not only to him, but to his family and others.
In fellowship with God, we daily look away from ourselves—and our sins—and look at Jesus.
I readily admit that some things are easier to forget than others, so when I say we should stop looking at our sin, I do realize that time for healing is often necessary. If someone murders another person, he can receive forgiveness and mercy from God; but he may spend his life imprisoned and daily remember why he is confined to a cell. However, he can still recover spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. He can have an intimate relationship with God and even be used by Him while in prison.
In fellowship with God, we daily look away from ourselves—and our sins—and look at Jesus. A person may spend his life in prison for a crime he committed, and although he is in a physical prison, he can be spiritually, mentally and emotionally free through the grace, favor, love, forgiveness and mercy of God.
There are things I do wrong that I am convicted of and receive mercy for all in less than fifteen seconds. But occasionally there are things that I am convicted of, receive mercy for, but have to deal with in my soul for a few days. I believe there are times when God keeps the loving pressure that only He can apply on our souls for a period of time in order to impress on us the importance of a thing. If your child carelessly spills his milk each night at the dinner table, you might eventually take away his play privileges for a day in order to make your point that he needs to be more careful. But if he continually runs out into the street into oncoming traffic, you might take away his privileges for a month because the result of his error could be more devastating to him if he doesn’t clearly understand and remember what you have told him. This is done out of the parents’ love for the child and for no other reason.
God disciplines those whom He dearly and tenderly loves, and we should appreciate that and embrace it. Even though we may still feel the chastisement of God, that does not mean that we are not completely forgiven. It only means that God is doing a deeper work in us in order that we might not repeat the same errors. According to God’s Word, we are destined to be molded into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). If you were a piece of clay and a potter was molding you into a shape other than what you once were, I can assure you that it would not feel good and you would be tempted to resist it. When God is working to mold us into the image of Jesus, it usually doesn’t feel good. It can hurt for
much longer than we think we can endure, but God does know exactly what He is doing, and it will work out well in the end. The fact that we are still hurting does not mean that we are not forgiven. Pain doesn’t mean that God is angry with us, or that He is punishing us. It just means that He is working and changing things for the better.
The shapeless, gray, cold piece of clay may resist being remolded by the potter and being placed into the baking ovens over and over again, but eventually it will be admired by many because it has become a fine piece of beautiful china, sought after by many.
Always cooperate with the work God is doing in you. The more we resist, the longer it takes. Don’t ever let how you feel dictate God’s love for you. He is always loving us, even when our circumstances don’t make us feel good.
Mercy Can Never Be Earned
Mercy can never be earned. Its very necessity is evoked by unworthiness, else there would be no need for it. Because we have sinned, we need mercy, not because we have obeyed.
Bob LaForge
Because our experience in life leads us to believe that we must earn and deserve any good thing we get, we often find it difficult to simply receive mercy. Mercy is outrageous! Who does something good for someone who is bad? God does! Instead of getting what we deserve as sinners, we are given the opportunity to stand forever in the presence of God. We are given right standing with God. He views us as being right instead of wrong!
Fortunately, the symbol of Christianity is the cross, not scales. God does not weigh and measure all of our faults and charge us accordingly; He prefers to simply pay the bill Himself.
John MacArthur reminds us “that even Jesus’ most scathing denunciation—a blistering diatribe against the religious leaders of Jerusalem in Matthew 23—ends with Christ weeping over Jerusalem (v 37). Compassion colored everything He did.”
Jesus seemed to be quite angry in His discourse recorded in Matthew, but it is quickly swallowed up by His compassion and mercy. Fortunately, the symbol of Christianity is the cross, not scales. God does not weigh
and measure all of our faults and charge us accordingly; He prefers to simply pay the bill Himself.
But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).
Ephesians 2:4–5
Now remember, I asked you to read these verses two times slowly and sincerely think about the beauty of what they are saying. God had to do what He did for us in order to satisfy His intense love. I have had occasion when love for one of my children has welled up in me with such intensity that I absolutely had to do something for them. You have probably experienced the same thing toward someone you love. If we can feel this way about flawed human beings, just try to imagine what God feels in His perfect love for us. He absolutely cannot leave us trapped in sin without providing an answer. He doesn’t wait for us to deserve any benefit, but He rushes to the rescue because He cannot help Himself.
We are taught that in His love He chose us, made us holy, consecrated and blameless in His sight, and allows us to live before Him without reproach (any sense of guilt or shame). He does it for one reason only and that is because He wants to. It is His will to do so because it pleased Him and was His kind intention (Ephesians 1:4–5). Amazing! What can we say other than amazing!
I believe when we give mercy it increases our joy. It is an act of giving and the Word of God says that we will be blessed when we give to others.
As I said, mercy is absolutely outrageous. In
The Grace of Giving
, Dr. Stephen Olford tells a story that is a magnificent illustration of that.
In the days of the American revolutionary war there lived at Ephrata, Pennsylvania, a plain Baptist pastor, Peter Miller, who enjoyed the friendship of General Washington. There also dwelt in that town one Michael Wittman, an evil-minded man who did all in his power to abuse and oppose that pastor. But Michael Wittman was involved in treason and was arrested, and sentenced to death. The old preacher started out on foot and walked the whole seventy miles to Philadelphia that he might plead for that man’s life. He was admitted into Washington’s presence and begged for the life of the traitor. “No, Peter,” said Washington. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.” “My friend,” exclaimed the preacher, “he is the bitterest enemy I have!” “What?” cried Washington. “You have walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon.” And he did. And Peter Miller took Michael Wittman from the very shadow of death, back to his own home in Ephrata—but he went no longer as an enemy but as a friend.
Miller’s love demanded that an act that would normally have required justice be resolved by mercy instead. That is the way God deals with us.
In order to receive God’s mercy, especially when we need it
daily, we must have a brand-new mind-set about how God deals with sin and sinners. First, He hates all sin, but He loves all sinners! God will never love you any more than He does at this moment in time, because His love is perfect at all times and is not based on anything that we do or don’t do. No amount of improvement on our part can earn us any more of God’s love. He has determined to give us mercy for our failures so we might continue to have fellowship with Him and receive the help from Him that we so desperately need. When we fail, we should never draw away from God, but we should run to Him, for He is our only hope of recovery from the error of our ways.
Grace takes the punishment that we deserve and mercy gives us blessings that we don’t deserve. Can you receive it? Can you stand to be that blessed for no reason at all except that God is good?
There was a school with a class of students that no teacher had been able to handle. Two or three teachers had been run off from this school in one year by the unruly students. A young man, just out of college, heard about the class and applied to the school.
The principal asked the young man, “Do you know what you are asking for? No one else has been able to handle these students. You are just asking for a terrible beating.”
After a few moments of silent prayer, the young man looked at the principal and said, “Sir, with your consent I accept the challenge. Just give me a trial.”
The next morning the young man stood before the class. He said to the class, “Young people, I came here today to conduct
school. But I realize I can’t do it by myself. I must have your help.”
One big boy, called Big Tom, in the back of the room whispered to his buddies, “I won’t need any help. I can lick that little bird all by myself.”
The young teacher told the class that if they were to have school, there would have to be some rules to go by. But he also added that he would allow the students to make up the rules and that he would list them on the blackboard.
This was certainly different, the students thought!
One young man suggested “NO STEALING.”
Another one shouted, “BE ON TIME FOR CLASS.”
Pretty soon they had ten rules listed on the board. The teacher then asked the class what the punishment should be for breaking these rules. “Rules are not good unless they are enforced,” he said.
Someone in the class suggested that if the rules were broken, they should receive ten licks with a rod across their back with their coat off.
The teacher thought that this was pretty harsh, so he asked the class if they would stand by this punishment.
The class agreed. Everything went along pretty well for two or three days. Then Big Tom came in one day very upset. He declared that someone had stolen his lunch. After talking with the students, they came to the conclusion that little Timmy had stolen Big Tom’s lunch. Someone had seen little Timmy with Big Tom’s lunch!
The teacher called little Timmy up to the front of the room. Little Timmy admitted he had taken Big Tom’s lunch.
So the teacher asked him, “Do you know the punishment?”
Little Timmy nodded that he did. “You must remove your coat,” the teacher instructed.
The little fellow had come with a great big coat on. Little Timmy said to the teacher, “I am guilty and I am willing to take my punishment, but please don’t make me take off my coat.”
The teacher reminded little Timmy of the rules and punishments and again told him he must remove his coat and take his punishment like a man. The little fellow started to unbutton that old coat. As he did so, the teacher saw that he did not have a shirt on under the coat. And even worse, he saw a frail and bony frame hidden beneath that coat. The teacher asked little Timmy why he had come to school without a shirt on.
Little Timmy replied, “My daddy’s dead and my mother is very poor. I don’t have but one shirt, and my mother is washing it today. I wore my big brother’s coat so that I could keep warm.”
That young teacher stood and looked at the frail back with the spine protruding against the skin and the ribs sticking out. He wondered how he could lay a rod on that little back, without even a shirt on it.
Still, he knew he must enforce the punishment or the children would not obey the rules. So he drew back to strike little Timmy.
Just then Big Tom stood up and came down the aisle. He asked, “Is there anything that says that I can’t take little Timmy’s whipping for him?”
The teacher thought about it and agreed.
With that Big Tom ripped his coat off and stooped and stood over little Timmy at the desk. Hesitatingly, the teacher began to lay the rod on that big back.
But for some strange reason after only five licks that old rod just broke in half. The young teacher buried his face in his
hands and began to sob. He heard a commotion and looked up to find not even one dry eye in the room. Little Timmy had turned and grabbed Big Tom around the neck, apologizing to him for stealing his lunch. Little Timmy begged Big Tom to forgive him. He told Big Tom that he would love him till the day he died for taking his whipping for him.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus took our whipping for us? That He shed His precious blood on Calvary so that you and I can have eternal life with Him?
We are unworthy of the price He paid for us, but aren’t you glad He loves us that much?
—Author unknown
