Forgiving God
Total Forgiveness • Sermon • Submitted
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Forgiving God: when it seems like He has betrayed you.
Is it okay to feel disappointment in God?
Is it okay for us to even utter the words I feel betrayed by you God.
Have you ever felt like God betrayed you? You are not the only one.
7 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah knows what it is like to honor what God wants for his life and to do what he was called to do as a prophet. But no one was listening.
God and I have had a few of these conversations over the years. - Lord, I feel like you lied to me.
Our perceived betrayal by God might be the greatest opportunity we will ever have to know Him more intimately. Our greatest spiritual growth in Him usually comes from the very hard times we have gone through.
Forgiving God: when it seems like He has betrayed you:
Be totally honest with God and tell Him your complaint.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Habakkuk had 4 complaints
God does not seem to listen - he does not answer my prayer
God it seems like you are looking the other way
During violence and He seems to side with the enemy
God I am having to endure injustice
God it seems like you tolerate evil
God is not afraid of your honesty complaints. He loves that you are confiding in Him.
When we talk to God we need to be vulnerable, transparent and real.
When it seems like God has betrayed you
2. Make a list of things you are truly thankful for.
It is the week of Thanksgiving.
I am going through to much hard stuff right now to think of things to be thankful for.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Where was Paul when he wrote the book of Philippians? Jail.
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them on by one;
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
When it seems like God has betrayed you
3. Fight self-pity and a feeling of entitlement with all your heart.
Self-pity: Why me? Or Why not me? -
Entitlement: the fact of having a right to something.
Why me? I think I am entitled to an explanation for what you are allowing to happen to me right now God!
1 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, 9 and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? 10 For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. 11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’ 12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? 13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? 14 As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. 15 The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence. 16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? 17 Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? 18 Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!
I am going to fight self-pity - NO ohs me.
I am going to fight entitlement - you don’t owe me an explanation God.
You are God and I am not.
When it seems like God has betrayed you
4. Choose to believe that God has a purpose in what He has permitted.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Purpose: God has a purpose in all things. It won’t go to waste.
God does not waste a hurt, but we do.
When it seems like God has betrayed you
5. Be patient and willing to wait for things to become clear to you.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
I hate waiting. I am very impatient.
What exactly are we waiting for? - For us to get clarity and see what God was orchestrating
How long must we wait? It could be a long time.
Do you know the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis? He had to endure a lot of horrible things before he saw what God was up to. 22 years to be exact.
Josephs timeline:
Son of Jacob and was loved more than his brothers (given an ornate coat)
Brothers hated him and spoke unkind words to him
Joseph had a dream and shared it with his brothers that one day his brothers would bow to him
One day his brothers plotted to kill him but instead sold him into slavery at the age of 17
They made up a story to their dad Jacob about a ferocious animal that devoured him
Taken to Egypt and sold to Pharaohs captain of the guards
God blesses everything Joseph did in the house / Potiphar put him in charge of all he had
Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph / he refuses / she lies / and he is sent to prison
In prison Joseph again succeeds and is put in charge all that went on there
Pharaohs cup bearer and baker where sent to prison / dream / Joseph interprets / Don’t forget me
Pharaoh has a dream / Joseph interprets / 7 years of abundance then 7 years famine
Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of Egypt second only to Pharaoh himself
Famine hits the world and Josephs brothers are sent to Egypt to buy grain
Joseph reveals himself to his brothers that sold him into slavery
5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
6. Acknowledge God’s unforeseen plan.
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
vs. 8: It was not you who sent me here, but God.
I could not see God’s ultimate plan for my life.
The early part of my life was a nightmare I could not escape from and I believed God hated me.
My testimony
For years I never understood why I had to suffer. God was going to take my pain and use it for His Glory.
Is it time for you to forgive God and start a relationship with Him. And let Him reveal His Glorious plan for your life?
