Selah Saturday: Forgiving God

Did your eyes do a double-take when you read the title of this blog? Were you horrified or just slightly amused at the concept? Do you deny that you've ever been so angry at God that you had trouble forgiving him?

It does happen though, you know. We have plans, lots of plans. Some are small-what sort of garden we'll plant this summer, which events in town we'll attend, that sort of thing. We also have big plans-we'll get married, we'll stay single, we'll have children, we'll change jobs, we'll retire. But sometimes our plans get a big, fat rip in them.

I recently received the news that the husband of a friend of mine has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. I was stunned. How could this happen? He is a wonderful, Christian man with much of his life ahead of him. Or so I thought. Maybe he will beat this thing, but maybe he won't. And when I thought of that I got mad at God, really mad. What was he thinking? How did this fit in his plans?

Then as he had done with Job, God asked me where I had been when he was forming the world, speaking it into existence. Then he reminded me that his plans were always the right plans, no matter how off kilter they seem (Jeremiah 29:11).

This stopped me in my tracks, and I realized I needed to forgive God for his choice in this situation. Then, more importantly, I realized I needed to ask him to forgive me for thinking I know everything. As always he forgave me, and our relationship has been restored. But it was a hard road to get there. It was not an overnight thing. 

What about you? Is there something in your life for which you need to forgive God? Or for which you need to ask forgiveness?