Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Anger”
Our Bible verse for today: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Don’t get mad at God.”
Do you ever feel as if God has forsaken you? It’s probably true that we all feel that way at times. In His anguish on the cross Jesus felt it. So did Job in the middle of his extended misery. So did King David at various times in his life.
One reason we can feel this way is that we know God is omniscient (He knows everything), and we know He is also omnipotent (He has power over everything). That means that He knows all about our circumstances and He has the power to do something about them. We’re also told that God loves us with Agape love (fully, completely, and unconditionally).
So with all of that being true, it’s reasonable to wonder why He hasn’t taken action to relieve us of our difficult circumstances. And it’s just a short step from there to getting mad at Him for not doing so.
One reason God might not be taking the action we desire could involve our free will. In the Bible God provides clear guidelines about how He wants us to live. But then He steps back and allows us to use our free will to make choices about how we’re going to behave. He also then allows us to experience the consequences of our choices. Therefore our situations are often of our own making and if God were to circumvent or override those situations, He would effectively be negating the impact and importance of free will by removing the consequences of free will.
Another reason for our circumstances could be the actions of others. This again involves free will but this time it’s someone else’s free will. Sometimes we suffer because of what someone else has done. But that too is not God’s fault and therefore we shouldn’t get mad at Him for it.
But a much more common reason God has not yet intervened in our circumstances is expressed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: who are called according to His purpose.”
In this case God is aware of what we’re going through and He is working behind the scenes to bring about some good thing for us. That doesn’t mean that the situation itself is good, it might not be. But it does mean that God is present and at work and in His way and in His time, He will bring good things out of bad situations. That was certainly true for Job, and for David, and for Jesus. It will be true for you too.
So don’t get frustrated or impatient with God, and certainly don’t get angry with Him. He loves you, He wants the best for you, and you can trust Him – even if things don’t seem to make sense at the moment.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 