How often do you get mad at God?

How many times have you expected God to do something and then been disappointed when he didn’t do exactly what you wanted?

It’s very easy for us to fall into the trap of praying for something that is not what God knows is best for us and then getting disillusioned, confused, frustrated and even angry at him for not pandering to your every whim and desire.

Palm Sunday always reminds me of the way that I get angry with God for not doing what I want.

The people were excited as they saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem and they shouted ‘Hosannah’ which means save us now.

The people wanted Jesus to save them and were excited because they were sure he was going to.

These people were living in an occupied land. The Romans had taken over their country and were oppressing them. Most of them probably hoped that Jesus would save them from the Romans and set them free from oppression.

But Jesus was coming to save them in a whole different way. Jesus was coming to set them free not from the Romans but from the curse which oppresses all of mankind.

It took less than a week for those same people to become disillusioned with Jesus – and angry that he wasn’t setting them free like they expected him to.

Those joyous shouts of hosannah quickly turned to shouts of ‘crucify him’.

As I think about Palm Sunday and remember the way I get disillusioned and angry with God, it’s a reality check for me.

If I had been there in Jerusalem 2000-ish years ago, I would have been there shouting “Hosannah” and I would have been there a few days later shouting “Crucify Him”.

I’m a fool if I think I wouldn’t have. The way I get angry with him proves it.

I need to work on how I react when I don’t get what I want from God – do you?