We’ve all been angry about something that hasn’t gone the way we thought it should or wanted it to go. And maybe it’s not a small thing; maybe we received news that we or a loved one has cancer, or something of a similarly serious nature. There are no easy answers to life’s larger concerns, and sometimes our human answers seem trite. We’re surprised that something like that could happen to us; we pray and pray, and nothing seems to happen. We’re good Christians, we go to church, we pray, we make offerings. How could He let this happen to us or our family?
Now we’re angry with God.
Many of us deny that we’re angry with God about the situation, “we’re just upset because it didn’t work out the way we wanted.” But if we really listen to our hearts we are angry with God.
What? Don’t admit it! Let’s just keep our feelings buried deep and smile like everything’s okay. Let’s all keep smiling, not confessing, and pretending to “do the church thing.”
Or we can go before our Lord and confess that we’re angry about the situation. He already knows, we’ve haven’t really been hiding anything from Him; we’re just lying to ourselves.
Our actions remind me of Adam and Eve, hiding in the garden. The LORD God came to walk with them in the cool of the day, and they were hiding because they had eaten the fruit that they had been instructed not to eat. How many of us have chuckled at their plight? ‘Hiding? What are they thinking? You can’t hide from God,’ we’ve thought. And yet… don’t we do the exact same thing?
Some may argue that it’s not right to be angry with God. Okay, it’s a point. But we already are, so we ignore it, or worse yet, lie about it to ourselves and to our Lord.
To have an honest friendship with anyone means sometimes we have to tell them they’re wrong, they’re acting disrespectful, they’re being unreasonable towards their spouse, or whatever. And they’re not going to like it at the moment, they may even get mad at us. But we’re friends, and sooner or later they’re going to realize that we’ve told them the truth and they’ll seek us out to repair the relationship. Or the complete opposite, they have to inform us that we’re the offending party.
Wouldn’t it be better for us to be honest with God and tell him we’re angry about the situation? Ask Him why? Shouldn’t we love our God enough to admit to Him that we’re upset? By us holding it in, we’re demonstrating false piety and damaging our relationship with Jesus.
All that being said, some of us will go demanding the Lord for an answer as if we’re His keeper. That is being disrespectful to the King of Kings and the Creator God of the universe, and we should bear that in mind when we go before His throne. Just because we’re His children doesn’t give us license to make unreasonable demands and act like spoiled brats.
So when we go humbly before His throne, confessing that He is our salvation, and that we’re angry with Him for the situation, we also need to be ready to listen. Some of us just want to hold God “why-hostage” because we’re hurt.
To illustrate the point: how many have tried to answer a three-year when we’ve told them no?
“Why?” the three-year old asks.
“Because, whatever our good reason is,” we respond.
“Oh, but why?”
Over and over.
They may even come back with more than just why, like “Why, and whatever their good reason is.”
We soon notice that they’re not really interested in our answer, they’re holding us hostage with their “why’s” until we give into them.
Some of us will “why-hostage” Jesus when we’re unhappy about the situation. Often pride and fear rest behind our anger, and we need to be aware of it. Remember that Scripture says by pride comes nothing but strife (Proverbs 13:10; NKJV). If our pride is at the root of our anger, we need to confess that and get right with our Lord.
Also, Scripture encourages us to be strong and of good courage (Joshua 1:6; NKJV). Do not fear, for I am with you (Genesis 26:24; NKJV). When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You (Psalms 56:3; NASB).
It’s important not to use our anger as an excuse to sin. The Scripture says be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent (Psalm 4:4; ESV).
Even if we’re hurt and angry, but we’re really sincere about listening and understanding, even if we don’t get an answer right away, we know He’s going to answer. After all, Jesus is more familiar with our anger than we are, He paid the price for it. Also like a three-year old, we may not understand the answer. But then the real question becomes “do we trust Jesus?” We may not always understand, but He will always help us and grow us. And whether we understand or not, He’ll mend our broken hearts and ease our anger, if we’re willing to set aside our fear and pride.
Trust in Jesus even when you don’t understand and “just stand up.”