I have been diligently seeking, listening, and teaching God's Word faithfully for the last year or two. I admit, I haven't been at this very long myself, but my growth in the Lord has increased by leaps and bounds because I yearn to know Him better. He has been very faithful in answering me and in a timely fashion I might add. From teaching and writing these articles, it keeps me in tune with Him and also keeps me in my proper place. So, getting mad at Him has no fundamental place in my life. What about you? I am doing the work that God has set before me. He put it in my heart that I was to study His Word and be eager to present myself and to be approved and tested by trial, not to be ashamed and to rightly and accurately teach His Word of Truth to others (2 Tim. 2:15). Not wanting to disappoint Him, my life has been dedicated to doing just that. My relationship with Him has become an intimate one. I know God is for real, I know His love goes beyond my human understanding, and I also realize that God can turn from us in great disappointment. It has been my heart's desire that those who come to hear His Word from my teachings will also grow in this kind of relationship with Him. But, as He told me and those before me, that in teaching the truth, we will come up against persecution and criticism and it will be a time of testing. Satan will turn the heat up the closer we get to revealing what a liar and deceiver he really is. I know my battles against the powers and principalities are very real. I don't take them lightly. But, for those Christians who are still on the milk, they are the ones who need to start feeding on the substance of the Word so they will understand God's ways. Unfortuneately, these are the very ones who stay away from hearing the message that God wants them to hear. I call these Christians "High Maintenance". They lack a backbone and are more about wishbones. When life is without turmoil, they can say they are blessed, but as soon as something starts tossing and turning, they blame God for their discomfort. This kind of reasoning makes no sense when you take the time to know Who God really is! As humans, we are naturally stubborn and we want to be right all the time. But this is exactly the kind of nature that God is trying to break us from for "our own good." We can waste our time and energy being mad at God all we want, but in the end, all that will result is us realizing our weaknesses and humbling ourselves and asking forgiveness. If not, we can't expect an apology from God any time soon. God has said in His Word that there are reasons why He will turn from us, He is very specific. He doesn't change on a whim, whatever His feelings are for the day. He never changes! So, if God has made us mad for whatever reason, it's not on His end, it's on ours! We are the ones who must take a long hard look at ourselves. God's already perfect, we're not. I wrote an article earlier called, "Can God Really Hear Me When I Pray?" I listed several reasons that keep our prayers from being heard. And these are the reasons we must examine ourselves. Our blatent disobedience to Him is one factor that will block all our blessings. If we hold unforgiveness or iniquity in our hearts are a couple more reasons. Is this God's fault? Who's approval are we seeking, man's or God's? What kind of decisions are we making, self satisfaction or ones that please God? So, if God isn't listening to your prayers then it's a problem on your end and He wants you to realize it and repent. There was one man in the Bible who was anointed by God to become king. At first he was 'little in his own eyes'. God demands that we are humble servants. But, due to his human pride, he became important in his own eyes and listened to everyone else instead of God. His name was Saul. "And Saul said to Sammuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice." 1 Sam. 15:24 (Amplified) Saul did not do as God commanded him, instead, he listened to the people and as a result God utterly turned away from him. Sammuel reminded Saul that it is better to obey than offer sacrifices (1 Sam. 15:22) Are we obeying God the way He wants or are we just covering up and giving Him superficial sacrifices that may look good to others? From there on in, God departed from Saul, because he may have repented with lip service, it was not in his heart to humble himself. He intended to do evil and God saw his intentions, they were not honest or honorable. Saul did not intend on bringing glory to God. What are your intentions? "Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord or execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day." 1 Sam. 28:18 (Amplified) All of Saul's blessings were dwindled away and his kingdom finally suffered because of it. But, David on the other hand was set up high with blessings from God because he was a "man after God's own heart." There were many times that David sought to do evil and take things into his own hands, but each time he humbled himself before God and asked for forgiveness of these sins. This made all the difference in the world. When we can get down and humble ourselves in front of God and ask to be forgiven, He is faithful to do just that. But, do we go on feeling sorry for ourselves and expect God to do us a favor? If that's the case, you will most likely end up being mad at Him and miss the blessings He has for you. It's just time we grow up and learn that we are responsible for our own choices. It's better to face facts and admit you are the one at fault, not God. The sooner you make that step of true repentance, the sooner you will start hearing God and seeing Him move on your behalf. It all boils down to choices. All choices have consequences. What consequences do you want for your life, blessings or curses? It's up to you. God's love will not keep us from our trials, but His love will see us through them. If you feel this article has helped you understand God better, or your relationship with Him, would you take a minute and let me know by adding a comment? Thank you for your support. |
