Anger vs. Mercy (#2) Reflections from Micah 7:18-20

Well, I guess it's gonna be a series on Micah 7:18-20! There's just so much wisdom and knowledge hidden in these verses that it is impossible to squeeze it in one short article. Not even in a series, probably. Anyways, this will be part 2!

... before we start

Hey, let's pray. Dear God, thank you for giving me life today. I'm sorry for being unkind to my neighbors and thinking of ways I can hurt them, rather than thinking of ways to encourage and love them. Please forgive my sins and humble this heart, Lord. Please open my heart and let me understand better who you are. Use me today for your glory, and may your will be done everywhere I go, whatever I do. May you alone be glorified through this life. Thank you for sending Jesus, so that I may have a personal relationship with you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Remembering 2019

This verse hit me when I was taking some time to remember what had happened in the year 2019, and wondering about what might happen in 2020. I think many of us have mixed feelings for 2019. For me, I can now say that it was a year of R E D E M P T I O N... It was a year of returning to my first, true Love. It was a year of walking in the blur of unknown future in physically and mentally discouraging seasons. 2019 was also a year of great reveals... of finding myself unable to leave the nest of sins that I've become so comfortable in, but also discovering God's mercy- that he still cares for me and loves me so deeply- and returning to Him. It was a year of making difficult decisions that tore my heart apart. Yet through it all, the Lord has proven His sovereignty in each moment of weakness. The Lord has delivered me into his safety, and into His arms. It was a year of experiencing His redeeming grace. 

I don't really know why I felt so special about this verse from Micah, but I believe that God's word is, indeed powerful and it truly encourages us from... I don't know... the deepest depth of our souls, perhaps. Anyways, I hope this meditation on the scripture will encourage you as well!

2. He doesn't hold onto anger but finds joy in mercy

In a recent journal titled "A new year, a new me (#1) Reflections from Micah 7:18-20", we focused on how God forgives and lets go of our sins, and how crazy that is, since God is so powerful and just totally and completely mighty. In this part, we'll look at the next part: God doesn't stay angry forever but delights to show mercy. 

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago" (Micah 7:18-20)

I've had anger issues for a long time. My anger was mostly directed towards my family (especially my parents), and my environment as well. There was a pattern to my anger; the same things triggered me to have a terrible attitude, or verbally attack the people around me. I've been learning that some of these triggers, simply put, were lies from the devil: That my parents don't love me, or that my life is awful. These lies attacked my heart and mind constantly and triggered anger in my heart. 

When we look at this verse from Micah 7, we are able to see God's character that differs greatly from what we are: prone to anger, and stingy of showing mercy. The prophet Micah describes here, that God does "not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." Wow. What can we learn about God from this passage?

1: God does get angry, but. 

It's easy for us to think that God is a fluffy, loving, warm person living in a castle of clouds and sparkles and cotton candy. The Old Testament, however, speaks about God's anger vividly with rather gruesome details. In Numbers, there's a scene where the Israelites are complaining to God, and as a result, God sends down fire to destroy them. "Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out." (Numbers 11:1-2)

God's anger is... terribly, terribly, scary. And it's even more fearsome because it's holy and righteous. There are many people who are angry, but most of the time the anger is born from reasons that are neither holy nor righteous. Our anger is often caused by jealousy or an attempt to demonstrate our selfish justice or self-pity, etc.. God's anger is holy and righteous, and we have no say against it because we are sinful to our guts. With even the most unnoticeable sin, like the 0.01 second of jealousy we've felt against our friend, we deserve to be punished for it. For every single speck of sin we commit, we deserve death and punishment, forever. 

But God didn't choose to stay angry, forever. 

2: Instead, God chose to show mercy

God chose to redeem us from the life that was originally directed towards eternal punishment. God chose to invite us into eternity with Him, even if it cost Him to sacrifice His only son. His most beloved son. Rather than choosing to stay angry, God chose to show mercy on us. Jesus chose to bear our punishment on our behalf, so that we may enter the Fathers' love and forgiveness. 

Jesus chose to go through the pain and suffering of leaving Home to bear the responsibility of becoming a savior to ALL people- everyone who's ever existed and who will ever exist- and to live a perfect life on earth so that he can become a sinless and holy sacrifice. Can you imagine yourself bearing the responsibility to live a perfect life- so that you are able to save the whole population who hates you, from eternal punishment? Can you bear it?  

Jesus chose to be mocked and spat on, to die in the most shameful way possible after being betrayed by His closest friends. Jesus chose to be let go and completely shunned by his Father. 

Can you imagine the pain and loneliness of being completely given up by God? 

God didn't have to choose to show mercy on us, neither did Jesus have to sacrifice Himself for us. But He did. And this, friends, is amazing grace. This is the immeasurable love of God. 

A story of redemption

These words from Micah 7: 18-20, "You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.", reveals a story of salvation and redemption. 

A story of salvation- that God does not stay angry forever. A story of redemption- because he chooses to show mercy and delights when we enter reconciliation with Him. He delights to forgive us when we come to Him with repentance. He delights to show mercy when we come back to Him, no matter how far away we've gone astray, no matter how much we've hurt Him. He is delighted to welcome us, and He delights in us when we choose Him over everything else. 

...A challenge: choosing mercy over anger. 

How can we live like Jesus today? How can we choose to honor God today? I pray that you and I will be able to show mercy and forgive others today as the Lord has forgiven us. I pray that we can return to the Father, and ask for forgiveness ourselves, that we will also be able to let go of our anger or the pain and choose to forgive. The world will do its best to pull us away from choosing to honor God, but God has won us over already: we belong to Him, not the world. I pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen and protect our hearts, so that we may choose to show mercy, just like He did.