said to Moses, ‘All right. Just as you say; this also I will do, for I know
you well and you are special to me.’”^4
Can God handle that kind of frank, intense honesty from you?
Absolutely! Genuine friendship is built on disclosure. What may
appear as audacityGod views as authenticity. God listens to the
passionate words of his friends; he is bored with predictable, pious
clichés. To be God’s friend, you must be honest to God, sharing
your true feeling, not what you
think you ought to feel or say.
It is likely that you need to
confess some hidden anger and
resentment at God for certain areas
of your life where you have felt
cheated or disappointed. Until we
mature enough to understand that God uses everythingfor good
in our lives, we harbor resentment toward God over our
appearance, background, unanswered prayers, past hurts, and
other things we would change if we were God. People often
blame God for hurts caused by others. This creates what William
Backus calls “your hidden rift with God.”
Bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God: Why
would I want to be God’s friend if he allowed this?The antidote,
of course, is to realize that God always acts in your best interest,
even when it is painful and you don’t understand it. But releasing
your resentment and revealing your feeling is the first step to
healing. As so many people in the Bible did, tell God exactly how
you feel.^5
To instruct us in candid honesty, God gave us the book of
Psalms—a worship manual, full of ranting, raving, doubts, fears,
resentments, and deep passions combined with thanksgiving,
praise, and statements of faith. Every possible emotion is
catalogued in the Psalms. When you read the emotional
confessions of David and others, realize this is how God wants you
to worship him—holding back nothing of what you feel. You can
The Purpose-Driven Life 94Bitterness is the greatest barrier
to friendship with God.