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 in my experience I have experienced much of it. I found a difference as stark as say that of day and night in going from the resentful in the Lord to being grateful in the Lord. I have experienced going from bad days to good days and though it wasn’t a quick journey to go from one to the other, that is, from resentment to grateful and contented, it seems like the steps one should take to do so are simple enough and could apply to many. In this essay I look to discuss what resentment in the Lord is, some common resentments, and how I’ve been overcoming resentment in the Lord for good.
Angry, bitter, enraged, annoyed at perceiving having been treated unfairly by God? Sound familiar? Should I say welcome to resentment in the Lord? Do you feel wronged by God? I know I had felt wronged by Him in the past. At times I felt as though my life hadn’t been good to me and blamed Him for that.
Where does resentment in the Lord come from? I suppose each case is unique but I consider that, generally speaking, resentment begins with the perception that one has been treated unfairly, or wronged, by the Lord. So much can go wrong in a person’s life and how is it that so often it doesn’t and at the end of the day the believer is left to blame who? Does the believer consider, after all, the Lord is in control so how did He not in some way, shape, or form have something to do with what went wrong?
Consider the life and mind of Job. After having lost his fortune, his children, and his health Job says, “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.” It seems apparent to me that Job was blaming the works of Satan in his life on the Almighty. While doing this how is it he wasn’t expressing resentment in the Lord? How is it he wasn’t expressing a form of annoyance and indignation at having perceived God was having him treated wrongfully?
Was Job resentful in the Lord during the trial or trials he was going through? We find out as the story progressed that Job was rewarded twice as much as he had before the testing of him. From that point on in his life I take it he wasn’t resentful. Would it be that Job’s story doesn’t parallel every believer’s life? I think it does not. Methinks there are believers that go 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. If Job had not received a visit from God how is it he too would not have had resentment in the Lord during the rest of his lifetime? Is it that many have gone through testings done by God and have not officially been told this and resented the trying experience they had gone through?
Some other common resentments in the Lord could possibly be being angry at God for what’s happened during a person’s lifetime that doesn’t include testing of a person. This could include 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? Is it that 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, is it or is it not that there is an onerousness on the believer to not blame God though the believer may feel 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. My experience with resentment in the Lord has been that sin can result from chronically blaming God for one’s misfortunes. Such sin included 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 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 Him 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 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 includes my love and there is that which I love more than my life itself and that is truth. Jesus Christ taught that He is truth. I am a truth lover and I cherish that I love truth and am grateful that that be the case. I consider that I owe my love for truth to Christ and that there is even greater of my life than my love for truth and again that is my belief upon the blood of Jesus Christ. I owe my life to Father God’s only begotten Son and the sinless life that He lived. 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. I find taking time each day devoted to appreciating God’s gospel helpful to do just that; bringing myself to a place to freshly appreciate the Lord’s great and glorious gospel again and again. Along with this practice, I appreciate the Lord in my life by actively working with truth by seeking what is what and why it is so. Once I begin to do this I find resentment disappears. By actively working with truth I find myself interested, fascinated, and content as opposed to being resentful, angry, and bitter. It seems to me that too much focus on worldly concerns can distract me away from my first love, which is truth, who is Jesus Christ.
Regarding more on overcoming resentment in God: Related to what is the greatest in a saints life and appreciating God’s gospel is the believer acknowledging that He has already done His greatest work in the believer’s life as opposed to the saint focusing on what the Lord hasn’t done for him. The Lord 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 brooding over the past in the recesses of my mind how much darker is it for me? 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? It seems to me that resentment is like a disease and eats away at the time a person has thus interfering with their ability to do good works and thus affecting heavenly rewards in the kingdom to come.
If it be true that one’s life in the world is as a vapour, and how is it that it isn’t with respect to eternity, 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?
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?
How is it not that 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, unless rapture happens in his lifetime, truly die for gain.
