Don’t Be Upset with God

  

Proverbs 3:11-12(NLT)
“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. 12; For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

“I’ve buried my face in the sand and let my fears run my life.”

A woman I’ve known for years is a single mother battling cancer. She’s unemployed now and struggling to figure out how to pay her mortgage. She’s trying to be strong for her twelve-year old daughter but tells me that, understandably, she’s exhausted. Her husband abandoned them a few years ago. He said he couldn’t handle the pressure of marriage and wanted out of the relationship, but she knew it was an excuse to go back to his ex-girlfriend. Before they married, she had a gut feeling that he still had feelings for his ex, but she loved him and thought he would change. He didn’t. Her situation, like so many others, demonstrate that making important life decisions without God’s wisdom can cause a domino effect of many other problems in your life.

This single mother is not alone. Many of us have made important decisions like marriage without receiving that all important greenlight from Heavenly Father. We convince ourselves that our significant relationships represent an area of life that we can navigate alone. Well, the times aren’t what they used to be. Dysfunctional habit patterns and behaviors in others can lead us down a very horrific path. And the thing is, we don’t often see this darkness and dysfunction in the person until it is too late. They hide the worse parts of themselves, and to get us hooked, they only show us what they want us to see.

Proverbs 3:11-12 encourages us to have a humbled attitude and not reject the Lord’s discipline. We shouldn’t be upset when He corrects us, and we must have confidence that it is for our good. God doesn’t want us to choose a person that would make us unhappy and would leave us in a very difficult position. You and I don’t know the future, but our Heavenly Father sees and knows everything. He knows the person that is right for us, and He knows when someone is trouble. You might think, “Well, why doesn’t He prevent us from letting this person into our hearts?” God always warns us, so we can’t be upset with Him. We are so blinded by our desires to be with someone that we neither see or hear His warnings.

Often, we fail to look to Him or read His Word for guidance and direction. We want what we want, when we want it. Some women are so fearful of having to endure more loneliness that they want a man at all costs. This is desperation, and desperation is the opposite of faith, so it will almost always lead to trouble. Once this man is in their grasp, they can’t imagine pumping the breaks. Even if God speaks to them audibly, they will not turn to Him with greater commitment, faith, and humility.

Heavenly Father created us out of His love, and He knows that we want to be loved by a good man, but this desire shouldn’t cause us to disobey God’s command of seeking His wisdom. Deuteronomy 8:5(NLT) says, “Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.” When we’re hardhearted and hardheaded, and we have refused to listen, sometimes this discipline comes in the form of facing the consequences of not seeking Him. God doesn’t punish us. He loves us, and a loving parent always corrects their children.

How should we respond to God’s correction and discipline? We must respond as Jesus Christ instructs in Revelation 3:19(NIV). He tells us, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” To repent is to have a change of heart and a change of mind. It means that we are committed to change our ways to such a degree that we always lead our lives with God’s wisdom. We are to seek Him first as Jesus Christ instructs in Matthew 6:33. When we do this, Heavenly Father will cover and strengthen us in every area of our lives so that we don’t make poor choices and bad decisions. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

“Don’t Be Upset with God”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.