Have your ever felt tempted to get angry at God? If you're like most people, then you probably will have at some point. We can easily blame God for all kinds of things that don't go the way we expected: a failed marriage, a problem with our job; lost car keys. Indeed, there are all kinds of unfortunate situations that can make it hard to muster praise and thanks.
However, we Christians know that God is good, and that He cannot be blamed for anything that happens to us. Whenever we feel tempted to get mad at God for any reason, looking at Jesus will help us have the right heart and attitude towards God. Here are some helpful lessons from the example of Jesus who suffered great pain and was so often misunderstood and mistreated:
Jesus came to do nothing but what the Father wanted
Jesus, speaking to a crowd that gathered to Him, said "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38)
Most of us will be tempted to get angry with God when we want things done our way instead of His. Jesus never got mad at God no matter what He faced because all that He wanted to do was what the Father wanted Him to.
It was the Father's will for Jesus to give Himself up for us
Because Jesus wanted to do nothing but what God wanted, He willingly gave Himself up for all of us. Before He was arrested, Jesus spent time wrestling in prayer, saying "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). He willingly surrendered Himself to the will of His Father, although He knew the torment and pain that it would bring Him.
"Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand" (Isaiah 53:10).
What about you? Are you willing to let go of yourself so that God could show His mercy and goodness to others? We must be willing to set aside our personal desires so that God's will can be fulfilled.
Jesus never complained
Jesus knew that what He was about to face was tremendously painful. Nevertheless, He faced it with a firm resolve and did not complain, not even once, and at the end of it all, He voiced forgiveness for the ones murdering Him, and made arrangements for someone to look after His mother.
"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).
If Christ Jesus Himself did not complain over the injustice that He received, neither should we. He did not deserve any of the pain that He endured, but He faced it in obedience to the Father.
How about us? Are we licensed to be mad at God for not giving us what we want? Of course not. Let us be like Christ – seeking to do the Father's will and not our own, always.
