Jesus Christ taught, “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Resentment in the Lord is as common as it is common and blessed is he who is not resentful of the Lord. There is great difference between being resentful in the Lord and being grateful in the Lord. In this sermon I look to discuss what resentment in the Lord is, some common resentments, and how a saint can possibly overcome resentment in the Lord for good.
What is resentment in the Lord? Have you been angry, bitter, enraged, or annoyed at perceiving having been treated unfairly by God? Do you feel wronged by God? These are signs that you are offended in the Lord. Where does resentment in the Lord come from? Each case is unique for you are unique in the Lord and I consider that, generally speaking, resentment begins with the perception that one has been treated unfairly, or wronged, by the Lord.
Is your perception of being wronged by the Lord in part to you being tested by Him? God is the greatest tester of man there is. Consider Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Has God been testing you? Have you been blaming Him for being God?
Consider the life and mind of Job. Job experienced being tested in his life and went through great personal misfortune while doing so. We find out as the story progressed that Job was rewarded twice as much as he had before the testings of him. Job’s story doesn’t parallel every believer’s life. There are believers that have gone through tremendous loss in their lives and are not directly visited by God during their lifetime and that things don’t get revealed or resolved until the afterlife. How many saints have gone through testings done by God and have not officially been told this and resented the trying experience they had gone through? Is this you?
Some other common resentments in the Lord, aside from the testing of a believer, could possibly be being angry at God for what’s happened during a person’s lifetime; including blaming God for what a person got or didn’t get. Some examples include: did one get an illness or in an accident? Did someone lose a loved one? Did someone not receive answer to a prayer or prayers? These examples could all be common grounds for a believer to blame God.
Though there are many examples one could list of reasons why a believer might blame and resent the good Lord, there are good reasons why resenting the Lord is wrong. The Bible teaches the Lord is blameless. His ways are above the ways of his creatures and His thoughts are above the thoughts of His creatures. With that said, there is an onerousness on the believer to not blame God though the believer feels wronged by His good person. Who is the believer to not line up his thoughts and feelings with the Word of God?
Another reason why resentment in the Lord is wrong is because it can lead to a strained relationship with Him. Sin can possibly result from chronically blaming God for one’s misfortunes. Such sin might include mocking at God, accusing Him, and blasphemy.
Blaming God for the day to day stresses that happens in life is a bad effort on the saints part and how is it that it isn’t giving Satan a foothold in one’s life? It’s for the saint to take proper care so as to not give the adversary a foothold to try to cause some form of division between the saint and the author of their salvation, who is Christ. Therefore, the saint should look to overcome resentment to promote a healthier relationship between him and his Creator.
The question “How does one overcome resentment in the Lord?” is now asked. Regarding overcoming resenting the Lord I recommend considering what the greatest a believer has in his life. It is his belief upon Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift of the good Lord depending upon whether one believes upon Jesus Christ or not. Consider how one believes upon Him. By me believing upon the sinless blood of the risen Lord means what? Among what it means includes me believing upon He that fulfilled God’s laws and willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice that the sins of the world could be forgiven. I know that I have sinned against God and that if I say I have no sin I deceive myself. I can be forgiven my sins and ultimately I am forgiven of my trespasses against God all thanks to the sinless life lived by God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ. If I meditate on that, which is of truth, then what happens to me? I appreciate more of what it means to be a believer in the Lord and resentment is no longer what I am experiencing.
What’s to resent if one has grown in knowledge of Christ’s worthiness and one’s own unworthiness? On overcoming resentment in the Lord I find it necessary to recognize that I owe Christ my all. Of my all is my love for truth which is Jesus Christ and which I love more than my life itself. I am a truth lover and I cherish that I love truth and am grateful to Jesus Christ that be the case. I consider that I owe my love for truth to Christ but again there is greater of my life than my love for truth that I owe to the Lord and that is my belief upon the blood of Jesus Christ. I owe my all including my salvation to Father God’s only begotten Son and the sinless life that He lived that the sins of the world could be forgiven. With that realized how can I possibly be resentful?
I find, though I have realized that, I have at later times still gotten resentful from time to time and it’s for me to realize again that I still owe my all to Christ and why that be the case. It’s for the saint who stumbles and falls to get back up and move forward : that is to say, it is for the believer who is also a sinner and who sins to confess the sin to the Lord and repent of the sin and move forward to his good calling.
To facilitate me moving forward can come in the form of me actively working with truth. When I do so I find the resentment is essentially no more. Working with truth makes me interested, fascinated, and content as opposed to resentful, angry, and bitter. Too much focus on worldly concerns can distract the saint away from his first love, which is truth, who is Jesus Christ.
Regarding more with respect to overcoming resentment in God: Related to what is the greatest in a saints life, is acknowledging what He has already done as opposed to what He hasn’t done. He has already given His gospel. What is that with respect to what will happen in a saint’s lifetime? Consider the book of James chapter 4 verse 14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Now consider 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
In this world how is it that one doesn’t see through darkened lenses? If I find myself offended at the Lord in the recesses of my mind how much darker is it for me to see clearly? One day one’s life will be over and how did they live their vapour? How much time was spent offended at the Lord? How much time was spent doing good works with Him? Resentment can be likened to a disease that eats away at the time a person has thus interfering with their ability to do good works and thus affecting heavenly rewards in the life to come.
If it be true that one’s life in the world is as a vapour, and it is, it seems to me to be of the wise to not be vapour-centric with respect to one’s attitude towards God. Don’t get overly focused on worldly concerns. This world will pass away. Rather than resent Him for what He hasn’t done for one in this lifetime why not appreciate his unimaginably great gospel more and be transformed for the better for having done so? Like appreciating and understanding that belief upon Christ is the greatest a saint has, I think appreciating God for his gospel is necessary to getting to know the Lord better and overcoming resentments.
With being offended at God having been overcome for good, one is in a better position to do good works. Consider Paul writing in Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” How much greater is it to “live is Christ” than to live as the offended at Christ? How much more free and enabled is the saint that doesn’t resent his Creator who is his Saviour as well? How much more likely will it be for the saint to express heartfelt praise and gratitude for Christ when he isn’t brought low by being wrongfully offended at the good Lord.
Blessed is the man not offended in the Lord. Resentment of God can have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of the saint and his ability to do good works. By identifying why a person is resentful and putting it in a proper context with respect to who Christ truly is can help a person overcome resentment. By appreciating what God has already done rather than considering too much on what He hasn’t done in the saint’s lifetime can help the saint to passionately live for Christ and, if need be, truly die for gain.
