Do You Blame God Or Make Excuses For Him?

How do you react when nothing goes your way and everything goes against you? Do you tend to blame God, or do you question Him by asking why this happened to me?

I’ve heard others who don’t necessarily blame God, but they make excuses to protect Him. The Lord doesn’t need our protection. He wants us to trust Him through all our circumstances.

Sometimes, God allows us to experience difficulties. In the Epistle of James, we read that through the testing of our faith, our endurance can grow. God allowed Satan to test Job’s faith.

Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. Plus he fears God and stays away from evil.” Job 1:8

On two different occasions, Satan had God’s permission to test Job. The first time, the Lord gave Satan the freedom to test Job through his possessions.

All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence. Job 1:12

Satan took full advantage of the opportunity given to him by God. He stole Job’s farm animals and killed his farmhands. He didn’t stop there, though; he also killed Job’s children.

Job grieved over his losses and fell to the ground in worship. He said he came into this world with nothing and would leave with nothing. Through it all, Job did not blame God.

God conversed with Satan a second time and again boasted of the integrity of Job. This time, Satan replied to the Lord that if he took Job’s health, then Job would surely curse Him.

Job’s Wife Wanted Him to Blame God

“All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot. Job 2:6-7

Job’s wife had taken about all she could take. First, she lost all of her children, and now boils and sores covered her husband’s body. She wanted him to blame God by cursing Him and then die.

But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. Job 2:10

Satan tried to pull one of his schemes over on God. Job became the most successful person in the region. And because of Job’s success, Satan accused the Lord of taking extra care of him.

Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! Job 1:9-10

Don’t Blame God

Do you understand what happened with Job? God bragged about him, not once but twice. Even after Satan took everything Job had, God still stood on the first opinion He had of him.

He is the finest man in all the earth. Job is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause. Job 2:3

When we get to heaven, we should thank Job the first chance we get. Because I know my life, and I can’t see God bragging on me. Job passed the ultimate test from Satan so we don’t have to.

Nobody likes to go through pain and suffering, but Satan will test and tempt us. Compared to what Job suffered, our afflictions will be minimal.

But does what others have gone through really matter when we experience times of testing? Therefore, we must stand on our own faith and trust God during those times and not blame Him.

Let’s point out that God didn’t give Job supernatural stamina. Job didn’t know why he had to experience this suffering, and he certainly didn’t enjoy it. In fact, he cursed the day of his birth.

When severe pain inflicts a person, their mode of thinking changes. Yet, despite all his pain, Job held on to two constants. He kept his faith in God and never considered Him to be the blame.

Even though Job went through a time of harsh testing, God never left him. Ultimately, the Lord blessed him with more than he had before. His life ended as he enjoyed the blessings of God.

God Abundantly Blessed Job

So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life. Job 42:12,17

Job may have forgotten about his painful experiences, but he continually remembered the blessings on either side of them.

Have you struggled to understand things you have gone through? Are you going through things right now? Welcome to the club! Call on God; He’s always the answer and never the blame.

So, maybe you don’t blame God. But how many times have you made excuses for Him? We pray and often give God choices of how to answer our prayers. Have you ever prayed that way?

Why don’t we just submit our petitions to the Lord by faith? Then trust Him for the answer. Instead, we make excuses for Him when He doesn’t do things the way we want them done.

Satan tried to blame God for putting a wall of protection around Job. Look what God has done for us. We have the cleansing blood of Jesus available and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

You have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

Are You Ready to Receive God’s Blessings?

We know we will experience ups and downs in this life. Are you willing to receive not only His blessings but also the times that will grow our endurance?

Please remember these simple truths as we grow stronger in the Lord. God does everything for our good. God orders our steps. And, of course, He won’t give us more than we can handle.

As much as Job went through, he maintained his integrity with God. We don’t have any reasons keeping us from depending on Him and keeping our integrity intact.

Lord, thank you for always being there for us, even when we aren’t enjoying the situation.

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