Ever Been Bitter?

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Title: Ever Been Bitter?

Sometimes I've said, "O Lord, you wouldn't do
this to me, would you? How could you, Lord?" I
can recall such times later on and realize that
my perspective was skewed. One Scripture passage
which helps me rectify it is Isaiah 45:9-11
(NEB): "Will the pot contend with the potter, or
the earthenware with the hand that shapes it?
Will the clay ask the potter what he is
making?... Thus says the Lord, would you dare
question me concerning my children, or instruct
me in my handiwork? I alone, I made the earth and
created man upon it." He knows exactly what He is
doing. I am clay.

The word humble comes from the root word humus,
earth, clay. Let me remember that when I question
God's dealings. I don't understand Him, but then
I'm not asked to understand, only to trust.
Bitterness dissolves when I remember the kind of
love with which He has loved me--He gave Himself
for me. He gave Himself for me. He gave Himself
for me. Whatever He is doing now, therefore, is
not cause for bitterness. It has to be designed
for good, because He loved me and gave Himself
for me.

Is it a sin to ask God why?

It is always best to go first for our answers to
Jesus Himself. He cried out on the cross, "My
God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" It was a
human cry, a cry of desperation, springing from
His heart's agony at the prospect of being put
into the hands of wicked men and actually
becoming sin for you and me. We can never suffer
anything like that, yet we do at times feel
forsaken and cry, Why, Lord?

The psalmist asked why. Job, a blameless man,
suffering horrible torments on an ash heap, asked
why. It does not seem to me to be sinful to ask
the question. What is sinful is resentment
against God and His dealings with us. When we
begin to doubt His love and imagine that He is
cheating us of something we have a right to, we
are guilty as Adam and Eve were guilty. They took
the snake at his word rather than God. The same
snake comes to us repeatedly with the same
suggestions: Does God love you? Does He really
want the best for you? Is His word trustworthy?
Isn't He cheating you? Forget His promises. You'd
be better off if you do it your way.

I have often asked why. Many things have happened
which I didn't plan on and which human
rationality could not explain. In the darkness of
my perplexity and sorrow I have heard Him say
quietly, Trust Me. He knew that my question was
not the challenge of unbelief or resentment. I
have never doubted that He loves me, but I have
sometimes felt like St. Teresa of Avila who, when
she was dumped out of a carriage into a ditch,
said, "If this is the way You treat your friends,
no wonder You have so few!" Job was not, it seems
to me, a very patient man. But he never gave up
his conviction that he was in God's hands. God
was big enough to take whatever Job dished out
(see Job 16 for a sample). Do not be afraid to
tell Him exactly how you feel (He's already read
your thoughts anyway). Don't tell the whole
world. God can take it--others can't. Then listen
for His answer. Six scriptural answers to the
question WHY come from: 1 Peter 4:12-13; Romans
5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9; John 14:31; Romans
8:17; Colossians 1:24. There is mystery, but it
is not all mystery. Here are clear reasons.