Do You Hate God? How To Stop Hating God

Sometimes we’ve had terrible things happen in our life that we blame God for. This is especially true when we’re victimized by someone, or when we’re trying to be good and evil happens to us anyways. This can cause us to hate God (or at least dislike Him and make it difficult to think of Him in a loving way). Other times we look at the pain and suffering in the world and hate God because He’s all-powerful and all-loving yet He allows it to happen and we don’t understand why. Or we doubt that He is all-powerful, or that He is all-loving, or sometimes even if He really does exist.

I want to let you know that He’s not OK with suffering and He doesn’t enjoy the suffering in the world. He is not the cause of the suffering and He wants it to end as much, if not more, than you do. God is also not a cop that is just sitting in Heaven waiting until you break His laws so He can punish you or send you to Hell. I want to encourage you in your journey to know God better – you don’t have to hate Him forever. In fact, it is possible to reconcile all of these things once you truly take the time to get to know Him. And I promise you, once you get to the heart of God, and you let Him get into your heart – dramatic things will happen.

First thing’s first. You have to realize that hating someone or something is a choice. You can choose to stop hating God the same way you can choose to stop hating anyone.

1. Decide that it is Not Good to Hate.

   Hatred spoils the soul of the one who is consumed by it. The only thing good to hate is evil and injustice. This is because this hatred is actually driven by love. The good news is that God also hates evil and injustice. In fact, the reason you even hate evil and injustice comes from your conscience—a part of God Himself that He gave you when He created you.

2. Seek First to Understand.

   Imagine if you and a friend had a fight and you were both upset and angry at each other. If you both wanted to reconcile, what would need to happen? You would want to take turns listening to each other, make each other feel like you each understand each other’s pain, and each apologize for hurting one another. Likewise, we would do this with God.

   1. Listen to Him.

      God already knows your heart—it’s your turn to know His. Listen to Him tell you why the world is broken and hurting the way that it is. Hear His side of the story. Was it His intention when He created the world? Is He the one responsible for causing the hurt and pain? Can He stop the hurting and pain, without consequences? If so, how could He do it? The Bible shows us how things got broken, who is responsible, and how it can/was/will be fixed. READ THE BIBLE (the Living Word of God) and ask Jesus (the Word of God) when you do to illuminate the answers to your questions. Then Listen. Read (and Listen/Be Open/Responsive while you read). Also ask your pastor about why bad things happen. Ask members of your church or other faithful Christians that you know that seem to be coping well when life throws them curve balls. God works through His Word, and through His Church to help us support and encourage each other.

   2. Understand Him.

      Don’t stop reading and listening and asking questions and searching until you fully, deeply, and wholeheartedly understand Him. We often listen only to prepare what we want to speak. Or we listen in order to find fault. Don’t do this. Listen intently. Listen with sincerity. God desires that you seek Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and promises that IF YOU DO you WILL find Him. (Revelation 3:20, Matthew 7:7-8) If your desire is to sincerely KNOW and understand Him, He will respond. Read the Bible as your primary method, but also listen in lots of ways. Listen to sermons, read books, do a bible study, ask people about their personal relationship with God. Don’t speak yet—just listen and take it all in.

   3. Share your Pain With Him.

      Once you understand Him you will know that it is TRUE that He wants to have a relationship with YOU. God desires that you come to Him, share your pain and hurt and frustrations with Him. He wants you to love Him and He wants to demonstrate His love for you back. He wants to protect you, comfort you, teach you and guide you. He wants you to ask Him why and understand why He had to send Jesus to die for your sins. He wants to heal you of your pain. He wants you to be empowered and to have faith and hope. He wants to heal you and mend your wounds and build you up, and then He wants to send you back out to help others so they can be healed, too. Share your pain and frustrations with Him. Ask Him to heal you. Ask Him to show you truth. Ask Him to give you wisdom, understanding, grace and love. Share with Him and ask Him for anything you need in Jesus’s name.

   4. Apologize To Each Other.

      Why do you need to apologize to Him? Would God apologize to you first? Once you understand Him, you might not even need or want Him to. This is usually how it is when reconciling with friends our family, too. The apology isn’t really that necessary once it’s clear that you both love each other, understand and value each other’s perspective, and esteem the relationship as more important than either one of you individually. The apology is less about your confession to accept all the responsibility and fault and really more about telling the other that you love them and care about your relationship with them.

      It is true that God is sorry that the relationship between the two of you is broken. In fact, He was so sorry about it He sent His Eternal Son to become human and feel human emotions and pain and suffer and die on the cross to create the way to bring you back to Him. God is the Father and you are the prodigal son. (Luke 15:11-32) God has apologized first and opened His arms to you. In fact, He did more than apologize. He suffered humiliation and pain for you. He died for you. He has forgiven you for all you’ve ever done to sin against Him and that forgiveness is yours as soon as you accept Jesus’s punishment on your behalf. He did all of this because He loves you. He provided His Word and His Church and His Spirit (and this very opportunity to find this article and read it) all so you would find your way back home to Him. Apologize back to Him and return to Him. This is called repentance. Apologizing for, and turning away from, your sins, which are personal offenses against God that have separated you from Him.

3. Reconcile With Him.

   Listen to God and understand Him, share with Him your pains and frustrations, reflect on what Jesus has done for you, and repent of all of your sins that helped contribute to the overall pain in the world (all that pain that you hate so much). Ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness, thank Him for His sacrifice for you, and accept Him as your Savior and as your Lord. Get baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and obey all of the other commands God and Christ have given. Pray and read your Bible daily and allow the Holy Spirit to guide your entire soul, mind, heart, and body. God will fill you with an overflowing love and use you to be a blessing on lots of other people. God bless.