Do I Need to Forgive the Father? – Day 28

Truth:

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and made us waste away because of our sins.
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:1-8 (New International Version)

Thought:

I’ve often been asked if anyone ever needs to forgive God. That language makes me uncomfortable.

Forgiveness is giving up our right for revenge. It’s putting the other into the hands of God. It’s His to avenge. He’s the one to repay. How can we put God in His own hands? How could we ever take revenge against God?

However, forgiveness is also agreeing to live with the consequences of another’s action or inaction. That could mean we may need to forgive God… but the language and sentiment isn’t right.

I’m in debt to Bill Johnson for giving me biblical words to express how we need to relate to God when things happen that just don’t make sense in light of His nature or character.

It comes from what John the Baptist had his disciples ask Jesus, while John sat in prison awaiting his fate.

John the Baptist declared the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, knowing the Anointed One would release the prisoners.

But then he sat in prison and doubt started to set in. He sent his disciples to ask his cousin if he had gotten it wrong and Jesus responded:

“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Luke 7:22-23 (NKJV)

John was sitting where he did not expect, facing something he did not want. We could almost say he had the right to be offended at Jesus.

And Jesus said “happy is the one who is not offended because of Me.”

We don’t need to forgive God. We need to live un-offended with Him. Part of living un-offended at God is agreeing to live without what He withholds.

Are you in the place where your situation, through no fault of your own, is not in agreement with how the Bible says it should be?

For example, the Bible says in 1 Peter 2:24, “By His wounds we were healed.” What happens when you’re not?

Agreeing to live without what God withholds means we don’t create theology from our experience. We can’t say, “It’s not God’s will for me to be healed.” Because we know His will is done perfectly in heaven and we know in heaven there is no sickness so we know it’s not His will for anyone to be sick. We cannot create theology from our experience.

Agreeing to live without what God withholds means we don’t make excuses for God not to be true to His word. ‘Oh, in heaven I’ll be healed.” So does that mean in heaven you’ll finally be forgiven? David said in Psalm 103, “[the Lord] forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” Why can we believe for one and not the other in this life? Don’t make excuses for God.

Agreeing to live without what God withholds does not mean we can’t change God’s mind. “God will heal me in His time.” I know this is controversial. But look at Abraham, and Moses, and Ezekiel and Mary and how they changed God’s mind. The timing of God is real, but just as real is the fact that friends of God can change His mind. The timing of God is a convenient excuse we have made a theology out of.

Agreeing to live without what God withholds means letting the potter be the potter and recognize you are the clay. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He thinks generationally and eternally. We are short sighted and linear. It’s best for us to simply be still and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10)

So be still, and know that He is God.

Prayer:

Lord, that You would rend the heavens and come down to make Your name known and set all things right. I know You are Good and I know You are Great. And I trust You, God, to turn all things for the good of those who love You and have been called according to Your purpose. I choose to live without what You choose to withhold, knowing You are good and You are great.

Challenge:

Instead of waiting for your situation to change, wait expectantly on God. Choose to still yourself by focusing on His love and goodness.

Declaration:

I choose to live un-offended at God. I agree with the Bible that God is Good and God is Great. Even though I don’t understand my circumstance, I give up my right to understand so that I can have the peace that passes understanding.