Have you ever felt mad at God? Oh sure; most of us are NOT going to admit to that. I mean, come on – dare to be mad at God? Um, yes. It’s not anyone’s proudest moment, by any means.
Did you love your parents? Ever question their decisions for you / about you? Ever feel mad and sulk off into your room, muttering under your breath, and throwing things? The anger comes from NOT understanding why they did what they did. Same with God. Maybe you pray “this way” and God goes “that way”. You are sure you have THE best laid plan…and…nope. God says “no”. Or He says “nothing”. Or He says “wait”. It seems He is against you and not for you. And because you’re just human, you have questions which may make you frustrated to the point of being mad.
Job
Well, that guy Job. He was mad at God. “Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why dost thou hide thy face, and count me as thy enemy?” (Job 13:23-24) God’s response was not to call him a brat, or strike him with lightning, or banish Him from His sight. Like any good Father He firmly answers the child who challenged Him – in very great lengths He revealed to Job WHO He was. Wait. THAT was His response? “Hey Job, let me just remind you why I’m God and you’re not!” Yes. I think God can handle our questions and maybe our human anger at NOT understanding His ways. But you can’t stay mad when you look into His eyes and remember WHO He is. His very character is all the reason we need to trust Him even if none of our questions are answered and all our plans lay bare.
“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) Remember, you can trust Him.
God said this to Job – “Brace yourself like a man…” (Job 38:3). Whoa. In all Job’s loss and questions and anger and pain, God basically says – suck it up buttercup! That’s 21st century lingo.
It’s Tough
It’s a fight from the depths of your soul. Surrendering to His will is the ONLY way to hold steady in the midst of the worst of times. WHO He is, is everything. Why THIS is so huge is – it will be your only way to survive and conquer the loss, the questions, the anger, and the pain. Self-pity will take you out. It consumes you and rots your soul. If Job had remained in that state, what would have been his curtain call? I’m guessing suicide. Suicide happens in that moment where ALL Hope seems gone.
It’s like God threw cold water in Job’s face to get him to stand up at attention! Unless we find God IN our desperate place and discover the heart of WHO He is, well – let’s not go there. Either He is who He says He is, or He isn’t. And, He IS who He says He is. He is our Father, redeemer, defender, creator, provider, healer, teacher, and Savior. Rest in who He is and your soul will find peace.
Our lives are filled with selfies, and snapchats, and snapshots of our lives, as things happen – we can’t see the end, but He can. He holds the whole completed photo album of our life. He is sovereign. It all begins and ends with Him. The sooner we learn to surrender to His will for our lives, the sooner we will be at peace and any anger we harbored will flee.
Job’s response to God after God had spoken to him, reminding Him of Who He was, was this, “And the Lord said to Job, ‘Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.’” Then Job answered the Lord: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:1-5) Surrender to the sovereignty of God. He finally understood God was God. Period. This is seriously the BEST place you can ever arrive. It means you really know Who He is. The peace that comes with this surrender is beyond comprehension until you experience it for yourself.
#ThyWillBeDone