Why can’t I overcome?

Q: I struggle with resentment in my life, and to be honest, I often blame God even though I do love Him as Lord and try to live in a way that is pleasing. Why can’t I overcome? – R.H.

A: How does resentment develop? It develops within the climate of resistance to God’s will for our lives. Christians who are strong in faith grow as they accept whatever God allows to enter their lives. They bow to His good and perfect will and become more mature. In a true sense, Christian character is growth, not a gift.

Alexander Maclaren, a distinguished Manchester preacher (1826-1910), wrote, “What disturbs us in this world is not trouble, but our opposition to trouble. The true source of all that frets and irritates and wears away our lives is not in external things but in the resistance of our wills to the will of God expressed by eternal things.”

To resent and resist God’s disciplining hand is to miss one of the greatest spiritual blessings we Christians can realize this side of Heaven.

Whatever it is – aggravations, trouble, adversity, irritations, opposition – we haven’t “learned Christ” until we have discovered that God’s grace is sufficient for every test.

The attitude which can overcome resentment is expressed by the writer to the Hebrews – that no discipline seems pleasant at the time; it is painful. But later on, it produces a harvest of peace for those who have been trained by it (see Hebrews 12:11).

True Christian victory does not lie along the path of mere resignation. Instead, the growing Christian sees that though God may wound us (or allow us to be wounded), His hand also heals (see Job 5:18). This should bring great comfort to the heart.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

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