No, Your Temper Tantrum Won't Change God

My spiritual director reminded me recently that God is like a parent to us, and good parents don’t always give their children everything they want if it’s not good for them.

Most of us have been there. We cry out to God:

• Why did You do this to me?
• Why did this happen?
• Why won’t you give me this or that to make me happy?
• This needs to happen NOW!

Sound familiar? No matter how much or how intense you cry out to God, some things just won’t change for you, and you don’t know why.

Our temper tantrums can be very deep sorrow and anger over the circumstances of our lives, and I’m certainly not trivializing those situations. I truly believe that God does want to give us our heart’s desires, and that it is greatly painful for Him when we are suffering. Like a parent, I’m sure it’s very difficult for God to watch us suffer.

But we are His children … being formed, shaped, and molded into God’s image constantly, and God will do what He wills to make that happen. As a result, our life may look very different from how we think it should look. Our gifts and blessings may too. We aren’t in control – we never will be.

We can cry, carry on, and get angry with God, but in the end He’s not going to change. He loves us and will do what’s best for us, and it may not be what we think is best for us. He is all-knowing, and we are not. He is all-loving, and we are not. He sees the big picture, and we do not.

We need to let go of control and trust Him as our Father.