There’s a lot of comforting truth throughout the pages of Scripture. No matter your troubles, Scripture has something to offer to you. Are you being neglected by a parent? There is a perfect Father watching over you in heaven (Ps. 103:13). Have you been betrayed by someone you thought you could trust? You serve a God who is ever faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). Is the temptation to sin overpowering you at every turn? You are not alone, as even Christ Himself was tempted, and now pleads to the Father on your behalf (Heb. 4:15). Do your financial troubles make you feel like you’re drowning? You have an eternal and imperishable inheritance through Christ (Heb. 9:15). Perhaps you may even be facing death, but you can be sure that Christ Himself has defeated death once and for all (1 Cor. 15:54-55). On and on I could go. Our God truly is the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), and He’s demonstrated that for us in the tender truths of His Word.

There is one truth, however, that I think surpasses all the rest. As I’ve pondered God’s character this week, I’ve realized that there is one attribute of God that is far more comforting than all the others: God’s Wrath.

For some reason, modern evangelicalism seems to shy away from anything that pertains to God’s justice, anger, and wrath. We don’t want to scare people away with any talk of punishment and hell. After all, people are so stressed out and hurting and broken…who would want to walk into church just to hear about how our God is burning with anger at our sin? Our church members should be able to just walk into the service, get a nice big pat on the back, and go home feeling happy and comfortable knowing this loving, kind, and merciful God.

With this sort of thinking, however, we’ve missed a perfect opportunity to spread a most comforting truth. God is angry. He is wrathful. He is just. He is holy. You have broken His law, and because of this, He will not hesitate to throw you into hell for all of eternity. It is what you and I deserve. The God of the universe hates your sin, and that should terrify you. But it is this very terror that will inevitably lead to a great comfort.

Jesus explains in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.” God’s wrath is a comforting truth because it puts all other fears in their place. Once you begin to fear God…and I mean truly fear Him…you will realize that there is nothing else to fear. The power that God possesses over you is so great and so terrifying that nothing else will seem to matter. To be afraid of anything else when you’ve got a Holy God looking over your shoulder would just be foolish! It would be like having a gun to your head, but thinking about how scared you are to take your next exam. That would be ridiculous! There are much bigger things going on than a silly little test. Your life is on the line! The threat of death makes almost any other fear seem rather silly. Well, this is what the fear of God does to even the fear of death! It makes it seem silly! How could you possibly fear death, when you’ve got much bigger things to worry about? Your soul is on the line!

It seems so paradoxical to say that the wrath of God is a comforting truth. But it is. In fact, it’s the most comforting truth in all of Scripture! If God is our greatest fear, then in the end we have nothing else to fear at all! The one and only thing in the entire universe that can truly harm us is God Himself. The wrath that He will one day pour out on sin should keep us alert. Nothing else matters. Nothing else is significant.

So when earthly troubles come our way, we need not fear. Instead, we can smile as we look our fears in the eye and say, “What can man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6). The answer, dear Christian, is nothing. Man can do nothing to you. You’ve got a much bigger threat to worry about. Your soul is in danger. God’s justice will be served. The question is, what will you do about it?

Tom Pumford