What do you do when God offers you vinegar instead of water?
"Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled. Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (NIV) John 19:28-30
The Master Jesus Christ was well aware of His mission on earth and He of spoke of it with confidence, however, when it was imminent, the human side of Him was uncovered. He became sorrowful and dreaded what was ahead. Heavy in heart, He asked the Father to call off the inevitable. I am almost sure that the teacher of faith believed His prayer was going to be answered. Perhaps, His Father also has a less daring way of going about salvation; a much easier plan. So you can imagine how He feels when He finds Himself on the cross; when He finally brings Himself up to the reality that at the time He needed Him most, His faithful Dad had betrayed Him. So forsaken, the Prince of Heaven was even denied water and served vinegar when He cried of thirst.
What do you do in moments of your life when you feel betrayed by God? How do you handle it when life serves you vinegar instead of water to quench your thirst? On our Christian journey, there are times we feel forsaken by God; times when everything around us seems to go wrong. Why is it so? Why does the LORD allow us to go through pain sometimes?
As I launch a defense in favour of God, the first thing I want us to note is that God is our creator and we must conform to His rules. However, we hardly do. We love sin too deeply to eschew. Therefore, we never deserved any good thing God gave us. We sincerely do not deserve to be loved by God. We rather deserve to be perpetually maltreated and punished mercilessly. We deserve more evil than God ever allowed in our lives. The Scripture says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Viewing through these lenses, one can never be justified if they accused God for permitting suffering.
So, whenever you go through bad times and you are tempted to speak against God, please use a moment to remember all the unmerited love He has ever shown you. I am sure that there is ample reason to glorify Him even in times of troubles.