FORGIVE GOD! (Part 5)

Dearly Beloved,
FORGIVE GOD! (Part 5)
“When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:3-5 NLT).
This is the concluding part of this message. To say that there are no evil or life challenges is like hiding behind a finger. To say that people are not angry with God when such evil or life challenges occur is even worse. People do get angry with God, even the most religious or spiritual people, when they are faced with unpleasant side of life. The best thing is to admit this fact and “forgive” God. “You see, if you harbour anger against your God and do not confess it, guess what; you are the one who suffers.” In spite of the fact that God has not done anything wrong and He does not need our forgiveness as we need His. However, since we have been treating Him as if He offends us, we have to do some things.
“The many Biblical terms translated in English as ‘forgive’ reflect an assortment of meanings: to cancel debts; to lay aside or to cast away sins; to spare, to cleanse, to rescue or to free a sinner.” To “forgive” God means to be reconciled with Him by removing the barriers that separate us from Him, especially from trusting Him for who He is.
The first barrier is the barrier of silence. Do not remain silent when you are going through any life challenge. Communicate it to God. Express to Him how you feel about it, and ask Him to help you pass through the situation successfully.
The second barrier is the barrier of bitterness. “This is perhaps the most difficult barrier to get rid of, for it requires us to acknowledge that we are actually bitter toward God. This is tough for most of us, for who wants to admit that he has the audacity to hold a grudge against God?” However, admit that you are bitter about the situation and let God know how bitter you are.
Another barrier is that of ingratitude. Most of the people that are angry with God never think of God’s goodness over their lives. They take God for granted when life is pleasant. They consider the good things of life as normal things. However, when they are faced with the other side of life, they start questioning the existence and power of God. If gratitude to God has been our lifestyle, it will be difficult to be angry with Him even when it seems that He does not care about what is happening to us. That hymn writer said, “Count your many blessings one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” In fact, many of the popular hymns were composed by people that had causes to be angry with God because of their bitter life challenges, but because they were not blocked by ingratitude barrier, they could compose inspiring hymns that still glorify God today.
In conclusion, when God gives you a difficult teacher, assignment, or problem to work through, He wants you to trust Him and spend quality time with Him. You do not need to be angry with Him or hold any grudge against Him. He will see you through your life challenges, and you will soon testify to His goodness in Jesus’ name. Amen.
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).
NB
1. I am so grateful to Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe who gave me the permission to adapt his book “Forgive God!” in this serialized message. I am grateful also to everyone that has reacted either positively or negatively to the message. The book and your reactions have given me greater insight to the providence and sovereignty of God in dealing with the problem of evil and challenges of life.
2. If you miss any part of the message or you need a compressed version of the whole message, write me at spiritualdigest@yahoo.com. Remember that the message is adapted from a book. I can send the soft copy of the book to you also on request.
3. My two-week ministry-related visit to Mozambique has been postponed at the last minute due to a new development on the South Africa transit visa. Many thanks to all that have been praying for this journey. Continue to pray with me as I now process the South Africa transit visa. The reserved return ticket can be rescheduled.
God bless you!