I’ve not engaged in a serious conversation centering on the wrath of God for years, and hardly ever hear a comment on the topic. To be frank, most of us don’t believe in such an antiquated perspective. We hold to a tottering god of good will and benefit of the doubt. More akin to Santa Claus than Thor.

However, the Bible goes after my snuggly belief in a teddy bear god:

It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

God’s extreme anger works to restrain evil, and remarkably brings praise from those who survive his wrath. CS Lewis’s thoughts seem appropriate here: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

We live in a deaf world. Deaf to the quiet evidence of God all around us. Deafened by the shouting of social media and advertising and philosophies elevating self to divine status. God uses his kindness and grace to get our attention, but let’s not be surprised by the megaphone of his wrath.

We ignore this aspect of God’s character to our detriment. Should we fear the Lord our judge? Of course—terrifyingly so. Can we rest in his goodness? Of course—more than we fathom.

That’s the mystifying beauty of his nature, and we fail to appreciate one without the other.

Psalm 76 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Joanne Francis

Some ways of life prove themselves again and again, revealing an underlying universal reality.

Paul wrote a reminder to the Corinthian church, encouraging them to continue to give to those in need. He penned this timeless truth:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Few philosophies work out better for those who practice them than generousity. This is not just a Judeo-Christian truth, but everyone who practices generosity, regardless of creed or religion or the lack thereof, benefits from the practice.

The reverse is also true, the miserly of resources and love inevitably dies alone, in spirit and often without anyone near who cares for them. Years of selfishness dries up good will, a withering drought of the soul.

Give of your labor, your influence, your finances and your expertise. Do so willingly if at all possible, or just by faith, knowing that feelings will follow. Because the more you sow, the more you reap, and that’s a truth you can count on.

2 Corinthians 9 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dương Trí

One bumper sticker piece of advice I hear bantered about is to follow your heart. Which I assume means follow my whims, my desires, my wants wherever they lead. Fulfill myself and I’ll achieve happiness.

But the scriptures rebuff this sentiment. Jeremiah wrote: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

So…what do I follow? My heart that I know so well, representing my deepest desires and hopes, that apparently carries a seed of duplicity unknown even to me? Or maybe there’s another way?

A few lines before Jeremiah indeed laid out a heart cure: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

My heart is prone to wander. After all these years of life I know that for sure. I counter the deceit, the straying off after the frivolous, by anchoring my heart in the Lord and sending down roots.

Jeremiah 17 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Zach Reiner

Once, when discussing how hungry I sometimes get through the day, my friend replied that when it came to eating he liked to stay topped off. Overeating—staying topped off—is an easy habit to adopt but a hard one to break. Unfortunately, I adhere to this peculiar diet way too often.

Jeremiah referred to another peculiar diet in this prayer to the Lord:

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.

Jeremiah took promises and commands from God and ate them. He ingested, savored, sated his hunger and enjoyed their fullness. I think of meals where the food is so good I can’t get enough, or on the flip side, the bitter taste of necessary medicine.

Eating means to consume, to ingest, to absorb and digest. I eat daily. When I skip meals my stomach reminds me of its emptiness, prodding me to dine once again.

I approach my time with the Bible in similar fashion. Like Jeremiah, I eat the words, both encouraging and challenging, ingesting them for the health of my soul and body and relationships.

In this case, staying topped off isn’t a health hazard, but a benefit to me and those around me.

Jeremiah 15 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Tim Mossholder