“For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away- all the souls I have made.” Isaiah 57:16
This verse captivated me from moment one. I don’t remember ever having read it before, although I must have. But that’s why I read a different translation this year. Reading things in a different translation has a way of helping you see things in a different light.
I got so excited about this verse because while I had heard (and LOVE) songs that sing about God not being mad at you and I’ve gone through the progression of verses that explain how He poured ALL His wrath out on Jesus at the cross, leaving none for us. I don’t remember ever seeing it put so precisely in so few words. God’s not angry with you. This verse says it plain as day, “I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away.” If God had held on to His anger then none of us would ever see heaven. Ever. But that’s not who He is and that’s not His plan. This verse proves that. Long before Jesus was born, and even longer before He was crucified, God the Father spoke these words to Isaiah the prophet foretelling precisely what His plan was. God planned to pour out the entirety of His wrath on Jesus at the cross causing Him to say, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46 & Psalm 22) Did you know, that in that very moment where Jesus is taking all of our sins upon Himself, it is the ONLY place where Jesus doesn’t refer to God as “Father”, but as “God”. Jesus called Him “God” so that in every moment thereafter we could call Him “Abba” (which translates to the Aramaic equivalent of “Daddy”).
It seems like every time I turn the car on at some point in my drive I will hear Mercy Me’s song, “Greater”.
The lyrics are just so powerful! They PERFECTLY describe how I feel, the struggles, the doubts and fears, the GRACE! The fire of God’s anger has been completely extinguished by the flood of Grace through the cross! No matter how badly I lose the battle of today, it doesn’t matter!!! The cross has already won the war!!! 😀 Praise God! It’s not about ME!
Tamar Knochel 