I Forgive You, But…| Day 4: Do You Need To Forgive God?

Here is the devotional:

Honestly, some of us need to forgive God. When something bad has happened in our lives, or something didn’t happen the way we expected, it’s easy to ask, “How could God let this happen?”

But God is not your enemy. His intentions and actions toward you are always good. First John 1:5 says that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all,” and James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

God is only good, and his mercy endures forever (Ps. 118). He doesn’t change back and forth from good to bad. You can trust him (Prov. 3:5–¬6) because he always has your best interest at heart. So don’t hold any anger toward him. Just tell him how you feel and let it go.

The devil wants you to believe that the bad stuff is God’s fault or that he allowed it; God doesn’t care or he’s mad at you or he’s just not paying attention. The devil knows that if you’re mad at God, he’s got you separated from your help!

When my first husband died at 37 years of age, his sudden death left me parent to two teenaged sons and pastor to our church. At the time, people said to me, “you’re so brave to keep holding onto God after what happened.” I guess they meant that they might be mad at God over such a thing.

But my thought was, “This is no time to let go of God!” I knew I needed his help to get over my husband’s death, pastor a church, and raise two boys. Why turn my back on the One who could help me!

Besides, I knew that God didn’t “take” my husband. My Heavenly Father is a loving Father, who wants only the best for his children.  All evil comes from the devil.

There’s an easy way to tell if something came from God or the devil. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

That’s pretty black and white, isn’t it? If there is stealing, killing, or destroying happening, it’s the devil’s doing, not God’s.

Here are the scriptures referenced:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10 KJV

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Here are Stu’s thoughts:

This one is going to hurt some folks…just saying…

I have a friend right now who just recently lost her husband. And she hates God at the moment.

When she called me a few weeks back to talk about everything she said I hate God. And then in the next sentence…How can I hate and love God so much at the same time?

All I could say at that moment was that is a normal emotion coming from someone who just lost their spouse.

It’s not fair. Why did God take my husband? I didn’t get to say goodbye 😭

And there is the issue.

Death NEVER occurs on our timeline.  If this was the case no one would die because we are never ready for that part of life.

We get pissed at God because we didn’t get to say goodbye. And in the fact that they are no longer in our lives. Grief is a B! Grief is love with no where to go.

But we truly can’t be mad at God

God has an appointed time for each of us to die.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

God knew before any of us were born the exact moment we would pass from this earth.

That’s a hard pill to swallow. It really is!

Death is not friendly. As a matter of fact it is outright ugly for the most part.

Dying sucks and yet we all KNOW that one day we will. We don’t know how but we know we will.

And there can most definitely be a LOT of why’s associated with death.

We expect our parents to pass away before we do and yet we still ask God why.

Hell, we expect ourselves to pass away before our children do and then we ask God why. Or say that should have been me.

I know that when Matthew, Angie’s son, passed away those questions and statements were in her thoughts daily for a long time.

But it was Matthew’s time. And Angie came to realize that we are not guaranteed to always have our kids with us. God allows us the privilege of raising our children and teaching them about Him. Our legacy is what we teach our children. Not the things we buy for them.

Angie’s legacy to Matthew still lives even after Matthew’s passing. That young man touched thousands of kids and impacted their lives in such a way that it’s hard to explain. But many came to know Jesus through him.

And Angie sees God working through Matthew even though he is no longer with us.

The impact Matthew had even after his death…wow is all I can say…since it’s not truly my story but hers.

She never got mad at God per se. She always thanked Him for allowing her the time she had with him, the memories shared and the legacy he left.

Yes, the devil kills, steals and destroys but nothing happens outside of God’s knowledge. If you don’t believe me read Job.

In a death situation God is not to be blamed because it didn’t happen on our personal timeline of things.

For some reason death either brings people closer to God or further away away.

Many draw their strength from Him while many say screw God.

But this can happen in any of life’s circumstances as well.

When we place everything we have in God’s hands and leave it there…that’s when peace comes.

Our children and spouses are not ours in the sense that we own them. They are God’s gift to us for our faithfulness to Him. If He wants them back sooner than we would like we must realize that is all a part of God’s plan and good WILL come from it.

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This one was hard to write because I kept going back and forth on which side to take in my response. But my heart went the way it always does…it points to God and not man.

This was hard because some may not like what I had to say as many do blame God for the death of their loved ones and they walk away from their faith. I get it TRUST me.

This was hard because I don’t like talking about death. And yet it can’t be avoided as we all will die a physical death where our spirit leaves our earthly bodies.

But where, my friend will your spirit spend eternity? Will it be with God and the angels or with the devil and the demons separated from God?

I pray that is spent with God!

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If anyone feels the need to share privately your thoughts on your emotional and spiritual standings after losing a loved one I am always available to talk via email at stubaby777@gmail.com.

And if you need prayer our blogging prayer group is more than willing to pray for you. Send your requests to the email above.