28 Feb 2014

Open Heavens Thursday, February 27, 2014 by Pastor E.A. Adeboye: Angry With God?


ANGRY WITH GOD? 

MEMORIZE:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28

READ: Matthew 11:2-6
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
MESSAGE:
When deferred hope prompts a person to issue queries to God, it is an indication of the person taking offence towards God. We have to settle it in our hearts as children of God that there can never be justifiable grounds for us to pick a fight with God. You can ask God questions to seek clarification of issues, but to query Him, that is a no-go area. The case of John the Baptist in our Bible reading is one glaring example of this practice which some of us also indulge in. John had himself acknowledged Jesus to be the Lamb of God that takes away our sins in John 1:29. But much later, in the midst of his trouble with King Herod, who imprisoned him because he spoke out against Herod’s taking of his brother’s wife, he sent his disciples to Jesus. This time, it was not to complement Jesus, but to air his doubt about who he had rightly proclaimed Him to be. Why did it come to this? It was because he expected that Jesus as the Messiah ought to have known about his situation and to have either spoken or applied His power in getting him out of Herod’s custody. To be imprisoned is not a palatable experience, yet our knowledge and confidence in God’s ability, love, faithfulness and goodness should not be challenged by our life experiences. Jesus replied John’s emissaries in Matthew 11:6 thus:

“And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

We must be careful in the midst of challenges never to allow offence against God set in our heart.

There is no one who has been saved for ten years, who would not ask questions about not seeing corresponding results or answers to some prayers. However, you must realise that life is in phases (Psalm 37:25). Take for example Joseph: first, he was his father’s favourite with a special coat (Genesis 37:3), next he was the dreamer (Genesis 37:19), then he was an interpreter of dreams (Genesis 40:1-22) and finally he became the Prime Minister (Genesis 41:39-46). The journey of life for Joseph was not all smooth sailing, but his end was glorious. Joseph did not begin to issue queries against God in the evil days of his life experiences. Life is in phases. In the eyes of men, some phases are bad while some are good. As a child of God you must however remember that:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

ACTION POINT:
Have a deep reflection to recollect wherever you may have taken offence or have been angry with God, and apologise to Him from your heart.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 13-15; Psalm 47

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