We all complain from time to time, while it has been a normal way of life for a few people. We complain about our situations of life, food, clothes, our offices, our jobs, businesses and so on. I have heard persons make statements like “Was I the one who killed Jesus” and “why is my situation in life different”.
Ruth 1:20 says “Don't call me Naomi,” she answered; “call me Marah, because Almighty God has made my life bitter”.
If you think that God has not done you well, then you need to think again. Naomi lost her husband and two sons and when she was talking to Ruth, her daughter in law, she said that God had made her life bitter or God has not done her well. It is always painful when one loses a loved one. The death of a beloved one is always devastating that many do not recover from it. Out of her pains, Naomi said the Almighty God had made her life bitter.
This is the position many of us take when we are faced with issues of life and pains. We tend to accuse God, people and things when we are faced with challenges that they are the cause of the pain we are going through. We also speak like Naomi that the Almighty God has made our lives bitter, painful, frustrating and so on in the course of any circumstance. But we all forget so soon the mercies of God, his love, his grace and so on.
You may think that God has not done you well but have you thought of the things he has been doing for you. You are not in a hospital or a morgue at this point in time. Is that not a good reason to see that God is not the bad guy after you? Several times, you traveled and came back in peace. Other times, you were sick and you came out of it. Your bills are paid miraculously and you are alive. There are many people you thought were better off than you but they are dead, while you are still alive. Uhmmmm, God is good.
There are people who have given up on God and his ways because they prayed, fasted and gave their tithes and offerings. What they believed God for didn’t come to past, hence they became angry and felt disappointed in God. Some have even given up on the faith and have walked out from the church. Others have stopped attending church services, some have stopped praying and reading their bibles because they didn’t receive what they prayed for. What comes out of their mouths is “God has not done me well and he has made my life bitter. A few even go as far as cursing the God who created them and telling others not to believe him that they are just wasting their time going to church, praying and fasting. Pastors, Deacons, brothers and sisters in churches have gone back to their old ways because they got disappointed in God. They are very angry with HIM that they do not want to hear anything about HIM and HIS church.
I lost my mum in 2007 and I was so devastated that I lost my zeal for the things of God. I was so angry with God that I was playing truancy when it was time to go to church meetings. My heart was so heavy that I transferred the anger to elderly and spiritual people. Several people felt I had become so proud but they did not know I was angry with my creator. The news of the death of my mum came two weeks before I rounded of my national service year. I had planned out what to do for my parents when I left my primary place of assignment. At the place of my service, I was the Leader of the fellowship of Corp members and I had a great time leading people I felt were better off than myself. But after the news, anger started welling up in me and I saw myself doing things I was not supposed to do. It took me years to come out of it. Guess what, most people even my family members were not aware that I was battling with it. My walk with God was going up and down and my relationship with HIM became inconsistent. People who knew me thought that I had become proud due to the fact that I led a fellowship of about fifty to eighty people. But this was not the truth, although I had some elements of pride in me. This lingered for years until I started telling myself the truth about it. If I died in that state of anger and misbehavior as a result of my mum’s death, I would definitely go to hell. Also, I felt there was not need to be angry because it was affecting my personality and my mum had gone and there was nothing I could do about it. So, I started praying about it, going to church regularly and studying my bible deliberately, relating it to friends and people that I was accountable to who could stand by and encourage me. It took me a while but it was the beginning of the healing process. I can say that I have overcome the anger and all the ungodly habits I acquired as a result of the pain in my heart to a great extent but I still see anger well up once in a while in my life. I am not there yet but I know I will overcome it completely someday. My experience is a typical experience of what it means to be bitter and angry with God when one thinks that HE has not done him well.
Sincerely, I was privileged not to have died in that state but it is not the same with some people. A lot of people do a lot when they are disappointed in God and the devil capitalize on it by getting them deeper in those things that can destroy them which could lead to death, decay and deterioration. What is the essence of being angry with God when you know that all things work together for good for those who love him? Also, the bible says that we should give thanks to HIM in all things whether good or bad. I know it is not easy giving thanks when one is mourning, in pain, without a job, being broke, being evicted from one’s house, childless and so on. But I believe that this is a mystery that overcomes the devil in the time of adversity. The devil wants you to remain in that state complaining, feeling dejected and so on but giving thanks to God for it and every other thing neutralizes the devil and the stronghold he wants to build in your life through the adversity you are faced with. No wonder the bible says in Proverbs 24: 10 that “Don’t give up and be helpless in times of trouble (CEV) or If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength (NIV)! So, I will keep eating God’s word and fellowshipping with him because the journey in life or the place I am going to is far and there will be trials, temptations and disappointments on the way.
Psalm 27:13&14 says:
“13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord”.
According to the scripture above, you should be confident that you will see and eat the good of the land. In all the trials, pains, disappointments and temptations, you should have it at the back of your mind that you are more than a conqueror and that you will overcome them through you faith. I hope this inspires someone immersed in self-pity feeling depressed and defeated or thinking their life is over because of a setback. WILSON ILEOGBEN
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