He’s not mad at you!
Ps 145:8-9 “8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” NIV
Have you ever been in a relationship – family, friend, co-worker – where you knew that the decision the other person was making wasn’t necessarily bad, but that there was a better way, an option that would be much better in the long run? Maybe you weren’t given the opportunity to offer that viewpoint and were frustrated. If you did as I’ve done many times, you were disappointed and maybe even a little bit angry with the person, because you knew the better decision you would have made, which was easier, cheaper, faster, or less stressful. While outside you may not show it, inside you are holding something against them. Is that the way God is with us?
During the summer of 2004, I sensed the Lord nudging me to look for a replacement wheelchair for my father to help both of our backs. I was willing to pay the high price for a new one I had found, yet I remained indecisive about making the purchase. Finally, it occurred to me to ask the Lord if buying this wheelchair was what I was supposed to do. I was quite surprised when I heard a very clear, “No.” Just as I had been unsettled with the purchase, I was now unsettled with His answer. I couldn’t understand why He’d directed me to look for a wheelchair in the first place only to tell me not to buy one that met the need. After a day of trying just to be thankful that He’d answered me, I came back to Him and told Him that I wasn’t at peace with His answer. I went on to say that I wanted to be a good steward of the finances and truly wanted to be obedient from my heart, because I really do know that He knows what is best, even when I don’t understand. Then I waited in His presence, having made the decision to trust Him. It occurred to me that God might have a different way, a better way – and then I thought of the classified section of the newspaper. Sure enough, there was an ad for a good wheelchair, used only two months. To make a long story short, I was able to purchase this for a savings of over $500, and help out a family who no longer needed the chair.
God had a much better option for me, but He waited for me to ask for His input. What if I hadn’t stopped to ask Him and had bought the brand new one? He wouldn’t have been mad at me at all. What if I had just grumbled because He wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to? He still wouldn’t have been angry. He is slow to anger and rich in love! And He wasn’t angry with me for coming back to ask Him about His answer either. He is a loving parent, the perfect Father. He has the best way for us in every situation, and He longs to show us, if we will only ask. When we don’t, He still abounds in love toward us. He knows it can be so much better all around if we will only ask and obey. And if we don’t understand, He’d rather we ask Him about it than pout or grumble, or obey on the outside while having a wrong attitude. He’s not quick to be angry with us, even though we think that’s what we deserve. He looks for ways to help us know more fully His great love for us, day in and day out, in the little things and the big things. God is not mad at you. Pray in the freedom of this revelation, knowing He is love!
1 Cor 13:5, 7, 8 “. . . Love does not insist on its own rights
or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or
fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it
[it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. . . 7 Love bears up
under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to
believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under
all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or
comes to an end]. . . “ AMP
© Copyright 2005 Kay V. Stocking
