Does God Ever Get "Fed Up" With Humans?

Many Christians struggle with a question about repentance. They find that they keep falling into the same pattern. They repent and immediately enjoy the close fellowship of Jesus. Things go well for some months and then inevitably they fall, committing the same sin they've struggled with for years. And despite their best intentions, they always react the same – they run and hide just like Adam and Eve. This hiding goes on for months as they feel helpless to do better, and though they are full of shame and guilt, paradoxically, they enjoy their sin and a part of them doesn't want to stop. They give up even trying to act like a Christian, they stop going to church and can't bring themselves to pray. Eventually, they realize how miserable they are without God and go back to Him asking forgiveness. Things will be fine for a while and then the whole cycle starts over.
Many hearts grieve over the relationship they once had with Him but they feel like they cannot truly repent. Deep down, they know that eventually they will give in to this temptation again. If they’re really honest, there's a big part of them that doesn't want to give up this behavior. So, even though they know it's wrong, they know they’re a sinner and they know Jesus died for them - they feel like they can't accept His forgiveness, to do so would be hypocritical. And since God is omnipotent and knows our true motives, wouldn't He despise their deceitfulness and deny them forgiveness anyway? Can God really forgive us if we continue in the same sin? Doesn't He ever just get fed up with us? They feel that in order to ask forgiveness they have to be willing to promise God that they’ll try harder to be better. But they know it's a promise they can't keep, so how can they lie to God? How can they break out of this cycle?
Anyone who feels this way is in good company. A man named Paul wrote, in Romans chapter seven, about his own struggle with sin. He said, “. . . I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . . “(vs. 14-15). He concludes this passage, in verses 24-25, by saying, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Is there ever a time when God won't forgive you? No, God always forgives. The key is that we must want to be forgiven. We must ask. Not necessarily immediately -- there is no expiration date beyond which sin cannot be forgiven. But we must ask. God will not make us repent, he will not force us to accept his love and forgiveness.Struggle with sin is a human dilemma -- whether we have accepted Christ or not. For Christians the difference is that Christ lives in us, so we have His nature at work in our lives – but we have this external sinful influence from the world, the flesh and the devil working on us also. This dilemma, this dynamic, is with Christians every day of their lives -- it is with new, "baby" Christians as well as mature Christians who have lived with the Lord for 50 or more years. As long as we are in this flesh we war against fleshly influences.
Sometimes, given genetic predispositions, and past addictions that send powerful urges through our bodies, these battles can be intense, and seemingly endless. The Bible makes one thing clear. Victory is ours because of Christ, because of His cross, His resurrection, and His Life in union with ours. It is not victory because of our superior character. Victory is given to us, whomever we might be, and whatever the specific lust or craving we battle, in spite of our behavior -- it is given to us because of the perfect work of Christ. But again, we must humble ourselves and accept Jesus. We must forget the idea that our salvation is based on our performance. If it is, we are all sunk!
Having said this, God's grace is no excuse for us continuing in our sin. Christ in us will gradually have His way with us, and will help us, direct us, encourage us. Depending on what we are dealing with that may mean we join a support group, we enter counseling, we join AA or Al-Anon, etc. Many Christians do these things because Jesus leads them to do so, because they wish to glorify Jesus in their lives, and know that while their salvation does not depend on their perfect lives, Christ in them will gradually improve them. Programs and support groups don't save Christians, they are often the vehicle that some Christians with severe battles use because Christ is in them.
God will never deny you forgiveness. God will forgive you of the same sin over and over again, as long as you wish to be forgiven, as long as you humble yourself as a child and seek Him. He does not get "fed up" with us or become tired of us. He won't forgive because you promise to do better, because we, as humans, have nothing to offer God (in terms of our performance) that deserves His love. He wants to give us His love and wants us to love Him in return. God will not give up on you -- don't give up on Him!

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