In contemplating the anger of God, we are drawn into a more profound and reverent worship of Him. It is a solemn reminder of our sinfulness, the holiness of God, and the incredible gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

When attempting to know God, believers are sometimes confronted with attributes and aspects of His character that challenge our finite minds. If it were up to us, we would get to know God by the traits and qualities we enjoy most, such as His grace, mercy, and love. But what about when we are confronted with other attributes wholly central to understanding who He is that chafe a bit more against the soul? What are we to think then? Today, I would like to discuss an aspect of God’s character that many, including weak-kneed preachers, totally avoid. That is His perfect, all-consuming, and righteous fury.
The Nature of God’s Anger
God’s divine wrath, as the psalmist declares, is neither capricious nor born of the frailties that often mar human emotions. He is a righteous judge (Psalm 7:11) whose holiness is demonstrated in all He does (Isaiah 5:16). As Habakkuk so aptly testifies, God’s anger emanates from the pure and undefiled nature. His eyes are too pure to approve of evil or to look favorably upon the wicked (Habakkuk 1:13). When His anger does break out, it is not quick-tempered or wreckless (Nahum 1:3). It emanates, instead, from a long-suffering, compassionate, and gracious countenance that demonstrates His lovingkindness to thousands but who will by no means leave the guilty unscathed (Exodus 34:6-7).
In His sovereign and holy displeasure, God responds with terrifying fury upon the ones who provoke Him with their sin and idolatry (Deuteronomy 9:7-8). Indeed, God is endlessly enraged over all ungodliness (Romans 1:18-23), covenant disloyalty (Joshua 7:1), religious hypocrisy (Matthew 23:27-28), and social injustices (Zechariah 7:9-12). Yet, as fearsome as His anger is, it perfectly accomplishes the will of God (Jeremiah 23:20) and is ever in harmony with His unfathomable holiness and love (Psalm 85:10). The Scriptures, particularly in Romans 2:4, reveal the redemptive purpose behind God’s wrath, which is not solely punitive, but also restorative, leading the sinner to repentance. For those who harden their hearts against Him, His vehement opposition towards them will consume them for His own glory (Deuteronomy 32:16-17). For those who repent and turn back to the Lord, His anger is only for a night, with new joys and mercies coming in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
In the Scriptures, the redemptive arc of God’s anger spans from the very first moments of history (in the fall of man) to the eschatological future when everything that provokes the anger of God will either fall into destruction or find perfect healing in the eternal state. His wrath encompasses the coming judgments upon all nations who oppose His reign, as Jeremiah 4:7 and Psalm 2 reveal, and also extends to the cosmic consequences of sin leveled onto the wicked individual, as Colossians 3:6 so solemnly warns. Yet, in this wrath, there lies a protective purpose for His chosen people (Exodus 32:10), an impartiality that transcends human notions of fairness (Romans 2:11), and an inevitability that marks the certainty of His justice (Nahum 1:2-3), which ought to lead us to repentance. God’s wrath stored up for believers is not a trumpet call for God to blisteringly wage war against them (as He does against the wicked) but a clarion call for our repentance, an invitation to return to the paths of righteousness, as echoed in Revelation 3:19.
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Life often gets discouraging just because it is so tough. Because this world is fallen, everyday life can be relentlessly difficult and exhausting. This constant resistance wears us out emotionally and spiritually, which can cause a loss of perspective. We begin to see people, events, political movements, and institutions that appear to be more powerful than the God of our faith. We lose heart. Our motivation to fight starts slipping away bit by bit.

Here is a truth that you and I know very well. YESTERDAY’S spiritual passion cannot be TODAY’S  spiritual energy. Gordon MacDonald writes, “Passion quickly dissipates; it must be restored. Like the manna God gave the Israelites in the desert, spiritual passion spoils quickly. As Moses and his people had to collect manna daily, so must we restore spiritual passion regularly. We would be wise to know how it so quickly disappears and what we can do when that happens.” (Restoring Your Spiritual Passion). This episode addresses the question, “How should Christ-followers deal with those days when we are unmotivated, down, discouraged, and our spiritual energy gone?”
In the deep jungles of Africa, a traveler was making a long trek. Coolies had been engaged from a tribe to carry the loads. The first day they marched rapidly and went far. The traveler had high hopes of a speedy journey. But the second morning these jungle tribesman refused to move. For some strange reason, they just sat and rested. On inquiry as to the reason for this strange behavior, the traveler was informed that they had gone too fast the first day, and that they were NOW waiting for their SOULS to catch up with their BODIES.”
How are we to function while we wait for the heart passion from our souls to catch up with the next day’s activities that we have to step into? This subject is crucial because we want to be motivated by our allegiance to Jesus, always. Only that desire to please him can keep us from falling into the destructive path of sin. But the reality of life is that ALL PASSIONS WANE. Let’s look into Scripture to observe 4 experiences of life that drain our spiritual passion and what we might learn that can help us push through dry, discouraging times in our walk with Christ.
Life Experience #1: Emotional Depletion
This experience is both a routine part of life and the result of going through intense emotional experiences—even though those experiences might be spiritual highs. I don’t know what the etymology is of the phrase mountaintop experience, but certainly the prophet Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel fits that description. It was the culmination of 3.5 years of intense prayer for the nation of Israel to repent from its idolatrous worship of Baal so that God would remove the curse of the drought in the land. After Baal is unmasked as a false God who could not send fire to consume the sacrifice, the fire of Yahweh fell. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh, he is God; Yahweh, he is God.” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there (1 Kings 18:38-40).
Elijah had to pray intensely for the rain to fall—seven times. Then he ran 18 miles to Jezreel. Elijah was as spiritually, emotionally, and physically spent as any man could be, but God’s supernatural actions had caused the revival of Israel to begin with the false prophets being slain and the people’s hearts turning back to Yahweh. King Ahab had seen God reveal himself as the true God, heard the people voice their allegiance to Yahweh, and stood by watching Elijah slaughter the false prophets. It was a total spiritual victory—except that it wasn’t. Queen Jezebel’s heart had been moved but not in repentance but to greater hatred of Elijah, whom she vowed to execute within 24 hours. With zero spiritual, emotional, or physical strength to do otherwise, Elijah runs for his life. He travels to Beersheba outside Jezebel’s kingdom, goes into the desert, and pleads with God, “take my life.”
“Elijah was simply drained. He had given out everything on the mountaintop; nothing was left…Individuals in a drained condition feel caught up in a sea of feelings that often runs counter to all the facts. There are strong senses of self-doubt and negativism. The mind seeks out all the possible minor and major errors that might have been made in the past hours, and then it amplifies them until all positive contributions are merely blotted out. Drained people become super critical of self and, of course, of others. They are convinced they have made fools of themselves, that nothing done or said will be remembered or implemented” (Ibid).
Emotional Depletion Happens: Application Principles
#1. Beware that when our emotional tank is on, empty, the pull towards something that feels good intensifies. Pastors watch porn on Sunday nights more than any other time because they are emotionally depleted by their ministry Sunday. I think God shaped our emotional tanks to be refilled through things we ENJOY—things that bring the good feeling of pleasure. But it must be lawful.
#2. Put three habits in place to keep our hearts emotionally renewed.

Find joy in your love relationship with God both ways—by delighting in the wonderful being that he is, and by basking in his delight in you. As surely as a child is the delight of his father and a bride the delight of the bridegroom, you are a delight to God. He enjoys YOU.
Build the brotherhood friendships that Jesus modeled with Peter, James, and John. One successful Christian businessman laments, “In one year, we’ve seen a tenfold increase in business, and that’s exciting. But I’m tired because I feel alone. Yes, I have a wife who is very supportive; but there are no men supporting me. When I read Exodus 17 of Moses being lifted up by other men, I watch a TEAM of men fight the Amalekites, the hated enemies of the Israelites. Moses gets tired and yet Aaron and Hur, his two friends, hold him up. God, I need some Aarons and Hurs in my life to join me.”
Build a flourishing love relationship with your wife. Certainly, there are days when unselfishly trying to love the other drains our emotional tank. But over the long haul, our romance with our wives should be adding to our emotional reserves. Rejoice in the wife of your youth…be intoxicated always in her love (Prov 5:18-19). That is a picture of two renewed hearts.

Life Experience #2: Everything is so Hard
Life often gets discouraging just because it is so tough. Because this world is fallen, everyday life can be relentlessly difficult and exhausting. This constant resistance wears us out emotionally and spiritually, which can cause a loss of perspective. We begin to see people, events, political movements, and institutions that appear to be more powerful than the God of our faith. We lose heart. Our motivation to fight starts slipping away bit by bit.
Authors Anne and Ray Ortland, in their book, You Don’t Have to Quit, pose this question: “Is there a secret that could help you stick it out through your darkest, most trying situations, until you emerge truly victorious?” In other words, “how can you keep from losing heart when everyday life is SO HARD?” They continue, “When you think about it, everybody’s had those periods. And the people who have made it have come through a time sequence—a time sequence that could be the clue to your making it, too: a) They began, in some new situation or effort; b) They hit problems and somehow worked their way through them; c) They came out on top.” 
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Written by Terry L. Johnson |
Monday, February 5, 2024
It appears that there no longer remains any behaviour which mainline Protestants are willing to call sexually perverse. It seems that the category of sin in sexual relations has disappeared altogether. The great old American Protestant establishment, the once wise mother church of most American Protestants, is pursuing a course of self-destruction. In Savannah respected churches with evangelical traditions are allowing practicing homosexuals to participate in leadership and even to teach in Sunday School and lead Bible studies.

The following article first appeared here on October 26, 2006. In the light of recent developments across many denominations, most notably the Church of England, it remains a most necessary and timely piece.
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. Proverbs 14:1
The mainline Protestant denominations (Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian) are discussing homosexuality with a view to transforming their bodies into more ‘tolerant’, more ‘diverse’, and more ‘inclusive’ organizations. This, any way, is how the advocates of the gay agenda present their programme for change in the churches.
What is the central issue? Simply this: shall homosexuality be normalized? Shall sexual relations between members of the same sex be viewed by the churches as legitimate, acceptable, even as desirable, in the same sense as are sexual relations between married people of the opposite sex? The full implementing of this principle of normalization would mean that homosexual acts would no longer be considered sinful, and practicing homosexuals would be granted full ecclesiastical equality, including the right to serve as ministers and church leaders. Further, children in the church’s educational program would not and could not be taught to prefer one “orientation” or “lifestyle” over another. Little Johnny and Suzie would be taught simply that Heather Has Two Mommies, as a proposed New York City elementary schoolbook famously and nonjudgmentally explained. Enlightened churches would define Christian virtue as loving and accepting those who are different. Conversely sin would be defined as the opposite: judging, condemning, or rejecting alternate lifestyles.
It is silly to argue that Scripture can be reconciled with these views. It can’t. The laws of God (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) and the laws of nature (Romans 1:24ff), the Old Testament moral code and the New Testament law of love (1 Corinthians 6:9) unambiguously condemn homosexual acts as unnatural, corrupt, and perverse.
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