Don’t Take it Out on God!

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." Psalm 62:5-9

It seems that almost daily we meet people that refuse to go to church, refuse to listen to the Bible, or refuse to trust in God because of the mistakes that Christians (actual or “so-called”) have made. Many times, the mistakes they are blaming for their decision are so trivial - like something said to a family member that may have been unkind; or perhaps the preacher or Christian layperson has a family member that is not holding as high a standard as the preacher - so somehow that makes them all hypocrites. Often people simply judge a preacher by his actions without knowing all the circumstances, and sometimes the preacher really has messed up and become immoral or caught doing something that proves his walk with God was not real…in any case, if and/or when any of these things happen – don’t take it out on God! In the second part of verse 9 quoted above, if we were to use a balance to weigh men against vanity – whether of low or high degree, men are lighter - lighter than vanity. To put it simply – men are just sinners – sinners with an opportunity to be saved by grace if they so choose.

We tend to put too high of an expectation on men. We look at great athletes, or actors, or people that have a lot of money, and somehow think that their talent or ability makes them better people; we look at preachers of large churches and think that means they are somehow better than other men. We expect more from them – and rightly so – they are in positions of leadership. They will ask you to follow them as they follow God, and we make many decisions based on messages we hear these men preach – however, we must also remember that they are just flesh and blood, and we should not put our confidence in them! I would also add this – God too expects more from them because He says in Luke 12:48, “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…” If God puts you in a position of leadership then more is expected of you, and you should take that responsibility as a privilege and be even more careful to keep yourself right with God. When people that are following you see you mess up or turn away from God they may take it out on God and become tempted to undo all the good things you put in their lives.

If you are in the "follower" or church member position, when you see someone that is in a “higher” position do something that you do not agree with, or if they actually fall– it is not wise, nor is it fair to take it out on God! When people you admire or look up to fail you, it is normal to be hurt or disappointed – perhaps even to become disillusioned – but do not make it a license to turn away from your God, drop your standards, mire in depression, and burden your life with bitterness – that will not undo what they did wrong, it will only hurt you further!

How can we prevent this?

1. Make sure that you have your own walk with God

2. Make sure the decisions you make are biblically based, and if you make a vow to God – be sure to keep it! “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” Ecclesiastes 5:4 – in other words if you make a decision because of a message you heard preached and make a promise to God – you have no excuse to “undo” it just because the preacher that preached it messed up…if he messed up quit following him, don’t follow him to turn away from God too!

3. Forgive. You may ask what that has to do with it, but, often the reason people blame God is because they have not forgiven the one that caused the pain or hurt they felt when their preacher disappointed them. Forgiveness is vital! Matthew 6:14 & 15 teaches us this, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

4. Serve God, not men

5. Expect things from God, not from men

6. Remember that God is your salvation, your glory, your rock of strength, and your refuge is in God.

7. Trust God at all times and pour your heart out to Him! Pray for those people that have hurt you and not only will they be helped, you will be healed.

So many people are hurting because of hurting people – but please don’t take it out on God – He loves you!  He gave His only begotten Son for you and “…he ever liveth to make intercession for” you. That means that Jesus pleads on your behalf, he prays for you!

I am praying this may help you! I love you and hope you have a wonderful day!