30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? 32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!
The angry God syndrome plagues all of us. It doesn’t take long to get caught up in this idea. If you asked someone a question about God and mentioned the Old Testament, they would most likely bring up Job or the Israelites in the desert. Aside from the fact that those stories tell us much more, the average person gets fixated on how God is angry and punishes His people.
We even see this mindset in modern times. We hear that COVID was a punishment from God or that the Twin Towers and 9/11 were somehow God’s judgment. I think Satan wants all of us to think this way, that God is unapproachable and angry, and if you even dare to come into His presence, you might get struck by lightning or afflicted with some plague of boils. Painting the Lord as angry is plan A for Satan. He used it all throughout the Old Testament.
The Israelites would sin, worship idols, and disobey the laws of God. The prophets would warn them to turn from their ways, but the warnings often fell on deaf ears. We even read that the Lord was feared and the people were scared to be near His presence. Exodus 20:19 says, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
When my daughters were younger, we had four little ones, I would sometimes lose my temper. I remember catching myself raising my voice and even yelling at them. I can still see the fear that would come over their faces. After those moments, my girls were hesitant to come close to me. It took a while to break that fear, but eventually, we made up.
I think this is how God feels when we’re afraid of Him as the “angry God”. I felt horrible during those times because I never wanted my daughters to fear me. All I wanted was to break off that fear and love them again. I can’t imagine a life where my girls saw me only as angry and quick to punish, constantly pointing out their faults. Even worse, what if fear corrupted their understanding of love altogether?
1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Ezekiel 18:32 says that the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. He would have us turn from our sins and receive a new heart and new spirit.
This is the God we serve, not a fearful, angry God who is waiting with His scepter to crush anyone who sins. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That’s why God sent His Son, Jesus. He died for us, and our sins are forgiven, taking away the sting of death, as the Bible says.
Get to know the Lord God today. He is not angry. He’s not waiting for you to mess up so He can punish you. He wants all of us to turn from sin and receive a new heart and new spirit in Christ Jesus. Do you know Him?
Prayer: Father, help us to know the real God. Help us to understand who You really are. Your Word tells us that God is love in 1 John. I pray that we would all get to know You and have a relationship with Jesus, and stop seeing You as angry. Jesus paid it all, our sins are forgiven. We can come boldly to the throne of God because of Jesus. I pray that we would see You now as Abba Father, whose best definition is love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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