Agreement With God

As I was preparing for this week's message, it occurred to me at times the only place of agreement we can find on some matters with opinionated people is to "agree to disagree."  This certainly is never our preference, for we would much rather have people see things like we do.  What may come as a shock to us is we can also have this approach toward God who says and does things we do not understand.  Like Job who suffered great pain and loss, we can question why God would allow such things, wonder if God has made a mistake and doubt His wisdom.

When we agree to disagree with people, it is often to keep things civil between two parties.  Having agreed to disagree we do not bother bringing up the touchy topic anymore in consideration of the feelings of the other party.  We agree to disagree because we value the other person more than the point we want to make.  We might even do so because we have to, otherwise it will prove so divisive any lingering discussion on the topic will lead to quarrels and damage the friendship.  Imagine, that we would agree to disagree with God, that we would choose to remain at odds with Him over pains in our past only He can heal and redeem.

We might be content at times to agree to disagree with God, but He is not content for us to remain in that posture.  Being our Maker, heavenly Father and King, we can only enter into the joy of the LORD and experience His peace when we submit to Him in faith.  He loves us and welcomes our questions; He desires we pour out our hearts to Him in desperation for help.  But we always must remember He is God, and He is good and faithful.  Our disagreement can come from ignorance, like when Peter argued with Jesus that crucifixion was not God's plan.  Jesus rebuked Peter publicly in Matthew 16:23:  "But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Can you imagine Peter responding, "Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree."  Imagine saying that to our LORD!  As unbelievable as it may seem, we can do this very thing.  We think God should have given us that spiritual gift by now or our prayers should have been answered, and a little bit of resentment and bitterness begins to grow.

How grateful I am for the longsuffering and patience of God with us weak, short-sighted servants!  Even when we forget God and all He has promised, He smiles upon us with grace, mercy and compassion.  He knows what we are going through and all He intends to accomplish through situations we cannot appreciate or understand.  Blessed is the one who submits to God with their whole heart, for this is the only posture that agrees with God as we ought.  As long as we agree to disagree it is not God's problem with us, but our problem with Him because our minds are stubbornly made up.  This disconnect in relationship is only restored through repentance and simple faith in God who has spoken in His word, through Jesus Christ in these last days and the Holy Spirit.  Let us lay aside our preconceived ideas of what God should do or should have done and rejoice in Him Who is holy.  Our God is the awesome, living God Who loves and is worthy of all glory and praise.