ARE YOU MAD AT GOD?
I believe there is nothing more dangerous to a Christian than to carry around resentment against God. I am shocked by the growing number of believers who hold some kind of grudge against Him. Why? They are convinced He does not care because He hasn't answered a particular prayer or acted on their behalf.
Jonah had a missionary call from God and he went to Nineveh to preach the message of judgment he had received. After delivering the message, Jonah sat on a hillside, waiting for God to begin the judgment. But forty days passed and nothing had happened. Why? Because Nineveh had repented and God had changed His mind about destroying them!
Most rage against God begins with a disappointment. God may call us, burden us and send us. Then, when things do not go as we had planned, we may feel misled or betrayed. God understands our cries of pain and confusion. After all, our cry is a human one. And it is no different from Jesus' cry on the cross: "Father, why have You forsaken Me?"
If we continue nursing a peeved spirit, it will grow into rage. And God will ask us the same question He asked Jonah: "Doest thou well to be angry?" (Jonah 4:9). In other words, "Do you think you have a right to be so angry?"
Jonah answered, "I do well to be angry, even unto death" (same verse). This prophet was so full of rage at God, that he said, "I don't care whether I live or die. My ministry is a failure. I have every right to be angry with Him."
God's Word says there is hope. "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:16). In other words, "Stop complaining. I'm going to reward your faithfulness."
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Beloved, your cries and prayers have not been in vain. All your pain and tears have been for a purpose. God is telling you, "You think it's all over. You see only your failure and ruin, with no results. So you say, ‘This is the end.’ But I say it is the beginning. I see the reward that I am about to pour out on you. I have good things in mind for you—wonderful things. So, stop your crying!"
Jonah had a missionary call from God and he went to Nineveh to preach the message of judgment he had received. After delivering the message, Jonah sat on a hillside, waiting for God to begin the judgment. But forty days passed and nothing had happened. Why? Because Nineveh had repented and God had changed His mind about destroying them!
Most rage against God begins with a disappointment. God may call us, burden us and send us. Then, when things do not go as we had planned, we may feel misled or betrayed. God understands our cries of pain and confusion. After all, our cry is a human one. And it is no different from Jesus' cry on the cross: "Father, why have You forsaken Me?"
If we continue nursing a peeved spirit, it will grow into rage. And God will ask us the same question He asked Jonah: "Doest thou well to be angry?" (Jonah 4:9). In other words, "Do you think you have a right to be so angry?"
Jonah answered, "I do well to be angry, even unto death" (same verse). This prophet was so full of rage at God, that he said, "I don't care whether I live or die. My ministry is a failure. I have every right to be angry with Him."
God's Word says there is hope. "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:16). In other words, "Stop complaining. I'm going to reward your faithfulness."
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Beloved, your cries and prayers have not been in vain. All your pain and tears have been for a purpose. God is telling you, "You think it's all over. You see only your failure and ruin, with no results. So you say, ‘This is the end.’ But I say it is the beginning. I see the reward that I am about to pour out on you. I have good things in mind for you—wonderful things. So, stop your crying!"