Read: Genesis 6:1—9:17
So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created…for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6:7
God gets angry. The Gospels attest that Jesus got angry. And that anger, according to the Bible, is often directed at us. As in the time of Noah, there must be moments when God laments ever birthing us into existence. There must be times when we frustrate God, and God’s temper is loosed on us. Now, the wrath and vengeance of God has been out of vogue for quite some time. We prefer to think of God as loving, nurturing, and unfailingly gracious. That may all be true, but even the most loving of parents get furiously angry with their children from time to time. Just because parental love is enduring doesn’t mean the anger isn’t real.
We want God to conform to our desires, just as we wanted our parents to bend to our wishes when we were growing up. We want the God we have come to know through Jesus Christ to be around for our wish fulfillment, but not for our rebuke. If we want a real relationship with God, however, we must embrace all of God—God’s love, God’s mercy, and even God’s anger. Perhaps it is time for us to stop being offended by divine anger and allow ourselves to be corrected by it. Through the story of Noah, we learn that God has promised never to blot humankind from the earth again—mercy and forgiveness are God’s rainbow covenant with us—however, God still has every right to get angry with us.
Why might God get angry with you?
Lord, I don’t like thinking about Your wrath, probably because I know I deserve it. I do trust that in the end Your love for me wins out, but there must be times when You become deeply frustrated with me. Forgive me when I choose a caricature of You, rather than the real You. What I want more than anything else is all of You in my life—Your holy love, Your holy anger, and Your Holy Spirit. Forgive me and fill me . . . In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN.