The Object of Someone’s Wrath

Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? Psalm 90:11

Many live as the object of someone’s wrath. Through no fault of their own, they share the same last name with someone who harbors rage over the ways their life has failed to deliver what they think they deserved. As the list of offenses pile up, so does their anger. The reservoir is full and it just takes the mildest of annoyances to cause an overflow. When I think about an explosive person, I picture them as having no elastic left in the rubber band of their patience. It has already been stretched out by stuff prior to a present day encounter. It just takes something minor for the band to snap.

If you’ve lived long enough as the object of someone’s wrath, these things are probably true of you:

• You assume that you’re the problem. Angry people are skilled at blame shifting.
• You suffer from extreme anxiety. You never know what is going to cause an explosion.
• You cease to become yourself. A life of appeasement is your insurance policy against outbreaks.
• You hate yourself for being weak. But you fail to see that what appears as weakness is often prudence to ensure survival.

While implementing spiritual coping skills is the topic of another devotional, there is something far more pressing to talk about. If I am a child of God, I was once the object of God’s wrath. Now that is terrifying. I could do nothing right. My sin marked me. I couldn’t fix it. Only Jesus could. His wrath condemned me to an eternal place of wrath. But hell was not created for me.

Paul said it like this ~ We were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us . . . Eph. 2:3-4 Never has there been a transition in scripture more beautiful than this. “But God. . .” Because Jesus took the wrath God had stored up for me upon Himself, I am now under His favor. When the heavens open, the light of God’s radiance pours down on me. I can stand tall, cast off the shame, and look up confidently for reassurances of God’s love.

Now the real tragedy is this ~ many of God’s children act as though God is still angry with them. The news from the soapbox of this ministry today is broadcasted loud and clear. God is not mad at you.

I am loved with Your everlasting love. In Your name, I silence the mouth of the enemy who tells me something is still wrong with our relationship. Amen