Is God mad at you?

November 9, 2008 • 14 Comments

While not spoken out loud, I think I lot of people ask, “Is God mad at me?”

We often think that admittance into heaven will be based on a giant scale. On one side, all the good things we’ve done, and on the other side, all the bad things. Then, whichever way the scale tips, that’s where we’ll spend eternity. More good than bad, then God is happy with us, and we’ll make it into heaven. But, if the scale tips too much towards the bad, then God’s mad at us, and then, it’s hell.

That’s not how it works. Righteousness, or right standing with God, is not based on having more good things in our lives than bad. Actually, righteousness is based on being perfect before God, having never sinned or never messed up. There is a scale in heaven, and on one side is all of the good things we’ve done, and the other side is perfection, having never messed up. That’s what God expects out of us, perfection.

That doesn’t sound very encouraging, does it? “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). “There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12).

But, there is hope.

Most people misunderstand God’s requirements for heaven. They think God’s attitude towards them is based solely on their performance. If I give more, help more, volunteer more, do more good than bad, then God will be pleased with me. Then, my prayers will be heard. That’s not how it works.

Under the Old Covenant, before Jesus came to earth, God’s attitude towards people was based on their performance. There were more than 600 laws to keep. Each and every law determined their standing before God. But when Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross for us, he fulfilled each and every one of those laws. He was perfect. He was the only person who lived a perfect life here on the earth.

Today, under the New Covenant, we have only one thing that we need to do to please God–to believe and trust in Jesus. In John 6, the disciples were curious. They asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (v28). They wanted to know what was required of them. Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (v29).

That’s it. That’s the work that is required of us–to believe in Jesus. You see, he is our righteousness. All of his work can become our work through faith (through believing) in Jesus. Sin no longer matters. Sure, it has it’s consequences here on earth, but no consequences in heaven.

I’m going to make a bold statement here: Sin is not what sends people to hell. What sends people to hell is when they reject Jesus Christ. Sin has been dealt with. It’s done. It was nailed to the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). And, it was. Sin was finished. There was no more sin to be dealt with.

So how does that apply to us today? I’m a Christian, I believe in Jesus and I have put my faith in him. What does that mean to me, a believer?

First, it means that God is passionately in love with you. He is in a constant state of joy over you. He is never mad at you. He loves you. He’s passionate for you. He’s fighting for you with all of his power and strength. And, he’s wooing you. He’s calling you to him for relationship. He wants you to come to him confidently and boldly.

Today, we can do that. We can come boldly to God. Our sin is gone. Our righteousness shines in Christ. He is our new High Priest, our Mediator. He has made a way for us to come to God without sin. With God passionate for us and no sin to hinder us, it is up to us to come to God. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (Hebrews 4:16).

What are you waiting on? God’s calling you by name. He’s ready to love on you passionately.

  • http://myjourneywithgod.com/is-god-mad-at-you/ Porsha

    I’m a born again christian, but I feel like God is really mad at me. Since I was 16-years-old, accepted Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. That was 20 years ago and now I feel so hurt inside, i just want to die everyday. There are specific things I asked God for and he wouldn’t answer. I am starting to think based on Deut chapter 26, I am paying for the sins of my ancestor, even though the church says Jesus bore those curses. I am so confused. I’ve been abused in church, my financial situation is sad, other things in my life I’m too embarassed to discuss.

  • http://www.myjourneywithgod.com Russ Pond

    God is not mad at you. He is passionately in love with you. Maybe you were taught wrongly about God or maybe the Heavenly Father wasn’t modeled correctly to you. You’re probably feeling hurt and confused because you have an improper understanding of God and his unconditional love for you. And rightly so.

    For me, I had to readjust my understanding about God and some of my wrong definitions of God. I had to replaces lies with truth. “You shal know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 6:32).

    As for ancestral curses, you can break them in Christ’s name. You are no longer under a curse.

  • malcolm

    thank you so much for this it brings peace to my soul

  • Melissa R

    I to feel like I have screwed up way to many times ….I will come to God redeticate (cant spell) my life then I end up falling away….I’ve done this many time…I feel like there is no hope for me anymore …Is God ever gonna give up on me?

  • http://www.myjourneywithgod.com Russ Pond

    No, God will never give up on you. There are multiple promises in the Bible that he’ll never give up.

  • angel m.

    Hi, I am christian thats in need of Gods help. I feel that Im not good enough to be a christian, I feel that im just making God look bad by claiming im a christian. I will never again put a christian bumper sticker on my car like the harvest crusade sticker cause i got anger problems and i get road rage and cut people off,curse,threaten etc. I dont want to leave god a bad reputation i feel that my behavior can cause a person not accept Jesus cause they will think that all christians are fake and phony i rather be true christian or not at all whats your advise cause im getting sick of religon

  • http://www.myjourneywithgod.com Russ Pond

    I think your sensitivity to representing Christ is a good thing. It’s good to want to do the right thing, but it’s difficult sometimes. I would encourage to pray about what’s on the inside of you. Oftentimes, anger or rage or fear or any other “sin” will come to the surface when there are deep wounds or pain in our soul and in our heart. It’s often to result of some bad programming. That’s why Jesus said we need to “repent”. He wasn’t saying, “We need to feel bad and confess our sins.” No, that’s no “repent”. To repent means to change our mind, to change the way we think and how we think. Romans 12:2 says we need to renew our minds. For example, you should read this post about “What does God think of me?” and realize that he loves you unconditionally and that in Christ, you are righteous, holy and perfect before God.

  • work on you

    I’ve been saved since 1979 I am now soon to be 51 years of age, and I too have had some anger issues with people and places and things, and I don’t want to be phony.  Over the past few years I’ve been working on ME and that Helps. If you recognize YOU have a Problem then work on it and change it.  What comes to my mind is…. die trying if nothing else it can’t hurt it may help you in the long run of life.  I need prayer everyday,and I need Jesus everyday.

  • http://www.facebook.com/russpond Russ Pond

    At the end of the day, our choices determine the kind of life we live. Thanks for sharing!

  • Kerahmel78

    I often wonder why god is mad at me. As a child I’ve had bad things done to me. And in return I am having a hard time baring a child. As a woman one of our duties is to provide children to our man. At 31 and still trying for 7 years I still fail. I often wonder if God is mad at me? I often cry because everyone around me is conceiving while I’m left at bay. My heart desires the blessing of a child yet my body refuses to produce. I will never forget what happen to me when I was a child, but I did forgive. Now, I’m left in this world of not being able to conceive which saddens my heart, body and mind. That only leaves me to think that God is mad at me? How does one move on when all I want is to love and adore my child? I just don’t understand.

  • http://russpond.com Russ Pond

    Thanks for writing. I’m sorry to hear about the struggles you’ve had bearing children. My wife and I have one child, but we’ve been trying for more than a decade now to have our second. While it’s not the same, I can understand your pain. I’ve seen how it’s been really difficult for my wife.

    God is not mad at you. He is not witholding children from you as some sort of punishment. Through Christ and his death, all wrath and punishment has been taken care of. When God sees you, he is very, very pleased. He finds no fault in you. In fact, I believe God is fighting for you, wanting you to have children more than you do. He cares for you and loves you so much, and it’s his desire to help you.

    We have an enemy here on this earth who hates us and who is fighting against us. Jesus said that the enemy came to steal, kill and destroy, but he came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). Not having children sounds like the work of the enemy, not God. God’s not holding out on you. You need to understand that and believe that. It’s the first step towards healing.

  • Kerahmel78

    Thank you so much for responding Russ. It’s amazing how God works in his mysterious ways. How he uses other people to soothe ones soul. To explain things in a different perspective that we are too blind to see.

     Deep down I really felt he was upset with me. Only because having a child is a blessing, I felt because I’m having a hard time was because he was punishing me, which confused me because my life has had its rough moments so I couldn’t piece together where I went wrong and why this was happening to me.

     As I’m starting to understand slowly but surely why things are the way they are I’m finding myself moving closer to God, as I’m sure that’s how he wants it. I pray everyday, morning, noon and night. I know its all about when he is ready to bless me with whatever the outcome is. Just the going through process is piercing.

    When I don’t think about it and I tell myself to just leave it in Gods hands I’m fine, its when someone always asks you ” so when are you two going to have kids” or someone you know announces their blessings”, although I am overjoyed for their happiness, I’m also sad for my desires and wants and not being able too. As well I have to understand not everyone knows my struggle so its not their fault to ask questions of that nature.

     My faith will continue to grow stronger in him and its good to know that God is fighting for me because I know he knows what my heart wants.  I’m just finding the process a bit hard to cope with after all the strong can become weak and at times I feel that way. But I will try my best to think differently.

     I’m happy to hear that you and your wife were blessed with a child, I will keep you and your wife in my prayers that God blesses you and your wife with another.

    I will take your positive information and run with it. Thank you again very much for taking the time to hear me out and lend me advice, that in itself is a true blessing.

  • Advocareourlives

    Russ  what about masterbation? This has to be brought up and I’m struggling to find out what it means in biblical terms.  If I do will it be sin or a free state of mind. I know lusting is a sin, but its a natural thing for a human to do..

  • http://russpond.com Russ Pond

    Is it a sin? Well, the Bible is silent on the issue. It doesn’t say it’s a sin. There is one story about a guy named Onan who “spilled his seed” on the ground, and God was mad at him, but only because the Jewish law required that he give children to his widowed sister in law. People try to point to that as showing masturbation is wrong, but that’s not an accurate application. Plus, it’s old covenant law.

    I know with masturbation there is a lot of guilt and shame that’s associated with it. And, that shame can be very destructive, which usually pushes people deeper into the sin.

    Under the new covenant of grace, all sin was paid for. And, all of the shame and guilt was paid for as well. I believe grace has the power to change people on the inside.

    Is masturbation wrong or a sin? Well, that’s the wrong question. If you make it a rule in your life, then you empower it even more. “The strength of sin is the law.”(1 Corinthians 15:56).

    Here’s what I would do if I were struggling in that area, I would talk to God about it. He knows it. He created it to feel good. And, more than anything, he wants to help you. Remember, you are satisfying a real need but in a counterfeit way. Let God show you what’s driving you to do that. And let him show you healthy ways to deal with it.

    I know without a doubt that God is not mad at you. He loves you and is ready to listen with no shame and no guilt.