Throughout the scriptures, we find people who on the brink of receiving God's promises become offended by the God-ordained pathway A wealthy young man is offended by Jesus words. Naaman is offended by Elisha's solution for his healing. Abram waited for years for the promised son to arrive. At times it seems like God intentionally offends people to see how they will respond. For some, like a Gentile woman who wanted deliverance for her daughter, the offence drove her to pursue Jesus even more desperately. For others, like the wealthy young man, the offence caused him to turn away from eternal life.
Just like thousands of years ago, God frequently still offends people as they get close to achieving their dreams and desires. I have seen people miss out because of a lack of patience with God. Like Abram, they attempt to "help God" because they can no longer wait on His timing. In doing so, they create something other than what God intended. For some, the personal cost becomes too great and so they turn away from the promise. And yet for those who choose to trust that God knows best, that His ways are beyond our intellectual reasoning, for those who embrace the offence, the promise becomes reality.
I believe God offends our natural mind to see if we will trust Him. Will we choose Him over out natural inclinations? If we choose to be offended, we will never fully discover the goodness of God and His promises. However, if we submit ourselves to His hand, we can expect to receive the promise.
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