What's Wrong with God?

What's wrong with God? There must be something wrong with Him, since people reject Him. The strongest example would be people who once followed Him but who have since turned away. They must have found some fault in God that made Him no longer worthy of following.

This consideration is precisely the issue that God addressed with Israel. They followed Him for a time but then fell away. God confronted them with this question: "What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty?" (Jeremiah 2:5).

God demanded an answer. What had the people found wrong with Him? There could be no answer to that question, because there is nothing wrong with God. He has no injustice, no fault, no flaw, no failure. Such shortcomings are not possible for God.

Actually, those who alleged an injustice in God were ignoring fact. They did not consider the right data. "They did not say, 'Where is the LORD who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of deep darkness, through a land that no one crossed and where no man dwelt?' I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things" (vs. 6-7).

Far from showing injustice toward Israel, God had done for them infinitely more than they deserved. After rescuing them from brutal bondage, God led them through a wilderness, providing for every need of a vast nation of people. He brought them exactly where He wanted them to be, to a promised land flowing with milk and honey. He intervened to give them that land by driving out the nations that were already established.

Does that sound like injustice? Does it sound like fault in God? Quite the contrary. In fact, God had repeatedly overlooked and forgiven their sins, shortcomings, griping, and rebellion. He had done all these good things in spite of their qualifications or behavior.

God wasn't unjust. He didn't ruin things. Perhaps the reason why the people later turned against God was that they thought things were ruined. The years of blessing and of plentiful harvest stopped. Their military power faded, and they were repeatedly plundered by foreign nations. Their treasures were stolen, and harsh tribute was required. Many of their people were killed in battle, and some were carried into exile.

None of that, however, was God's fault. The people were the ones who had ruined everything. "But you came and defiled My land, and My inheritance you made an abomination" (v. 7). What God gave them was good, even amazing. Their rebellion, disobedience, and mistreatment changed that. They brought down on themselves the inevitable results of their own behavior.

To be clear, the end result was ruin. The people "defiled" the land (v. 7). They made it "an abomination" (v. 7). They themselves "became empty" (v. 5). Walking in God's paths does not bring these disastrous results, but His Word makes it clear that following one's own way does bring disaster.

How many people today grow cold toward God because (whether they overtly state it or not) they blame Him for the disastrous status of their lives? They argue that God has let them down. Like Israel, they have forgotten all that He has done for them. They have forgotten His displays of mercy when they have fallen short. They have failed to realize that they are the ones to blame for the way their lives have ended up.

Nobody's life is perfect. Troubles do come, sometimes just because this world is fallen, sometimes because God is working out larger plans, including the maturing of His children. Everyone's life is a work in progress. Sometimes disaster and ruin seem like the result, when those are only temporary stages that will turn around for good.

So when a believer's life seems in ruin, there are two possibilities to consider. First, he does not yet see the end of the story. The difficulty may be temporary and not what God intends forever. Second, the disaster may have been self-inflicted, brought on by ignoring God's way and by forgetting His blessings. Either way, the answer is never that God is unjust or that He has failed. God's character does not allow that, and history has repeatedly verified His infallibility.

In times of trouble, do not turn from God in disappointment or disillusionment, my friend. Instead, run to Him and cling to the faithful God. There is nothing wrong with Him.