Anger...

Today I'm going to discuss the question:

"Is it wrong to be angry with God?"

Being angry at God is something that many people, both believers and unbelievers, have wrestled with throughout time. When something tragic happens in our lives, we ask God the question, “Why?” because it is our natural response. What we are really asking Him, though, is not so much “Why, God?” as “Why me, God?” This response indicates two flaws in our thinking. First, as believers we operate under the impression that life should be easy, and that God should prevent tragedy from happening to us. When He does not, we get angry with Him. Second, when we do not understand the extent of God’s sovereignty, we lose confidence in His ability to control circumstances, other people, and the way they affect us. Then we get angry with God because He seems to have lost control, or that He doesn't care about what is happening to us. When we lose faith in God’s sovereignty, it is because our frail human flesh is grappling with our own frustration and our lack of control over events. When good things happen, we all too often attribute it to our own achievements and success. It's easy to be full of joy when all is well in our lives.When bad things happen, however, we are quick to blame God, and we get angry with Him for not preventing it, which indicates the first flaw in our thinking—that we deserve to be immune to unpleasant circumstances.

Tragedies bring the awful truth that we are not in charge. All of us think at one time or another that we can control the outcomes of situations, that somehow we can "fix" the problem. But in reality it is God who is in charge of all of His creation. Everything that happens is either caused by or allowed by God. Not a sparrow falls to the ground nor a hair from our head without God knowing about it (Matthew 10:29-31). We can complain, get angry, and blame God for what is happening. Yet if we will trust Him and surrender our bitterness and pain to Him, acknowledging the prideful sin of trying to force our own will over His, He can and will grant us His peace and strength to get us through any difficult situation (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can be angry with God for many reasons, so we all have to accept at some point that there are things we cannot control or even understand with our finite minds. This exactly what I believe the Lord told me after my son died. I struggled with all the emotions and grief. I was angry at God and broke down and told Him such. I learned that I had to accept my son's death as Gods will even if I didn't understand it; that even if He did explain it to me that my finite mind could not comprehend it. It would be above my understanding!  

Our understanding of the sovereignty of God in all circumstances has to be tied in with our understanding of His other attributes: love, mercy, kindness, goodness, righteousness, justice, and holiness. We must begin to see our difficulties through the truth of God’s Word; which tells us that our loving and Holy God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). He has a perfect plan and purpose for us which cannot be hindered (Isaiah 14:24, 46:9-10). Only then we will begin to see our problems in a different light. We know from Scripture that this life will never be one of continual joy and happiness. Rather, Job reminds us that “man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7), and that life is short and “full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Just because we come to Christ for salvation from sin does not mean we are guaranteed a life free from problems. In fact, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble,” but that He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33), enabling us to have peace within, in spite of the storms that rage around us (John 14:27).

One thing is certain: inappropriate anger is sin (Galatians 5:20; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31; Colossians 3:8). Ungodly anger is self-defeating, gives the devil a foothold in our lives, and can destroy our joy and peace if we hang on to it. Holding on to our anger will allow bitterness and resentment to spring up in our hearts. We must confess it to the Lord, and then in His forgiveness, we can release those feelings to Him. We must go before the Lord in prayer often in our grief, anger, and pain. God knows our hearts, and it is pointless to try to hide how we really feel, so talking to Him about it is one of the best ways to handle our grief. If we do so humbly, pouring out our hearts to Him, He will work through us, and in the process, will make us more like Him.

The bottom line is can we trust God with everything, our very lives and the lives of our loved ones? Of course we can! Our God is compassionate, full of grace and love, and as Christ followers we can trust Him with all things. When tragedies happen to us, we know God can use them to bring us closer to Him and to strengthen our faith, bringing us to maturity and completeness (Psalm 34:18; James 1:2-4). Then, we can be a comforting testimony to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). That is easier said than done, however. It requires a daily surrendering of our own will to His, a faithful study of His attributes as seen in God’s Word, much prayer, and then applying what we learn to our own situation. By doing so, our faith will progressively grow and mature, making it easier to trust Him to get us through the next tragedy that most certainly will take place.

So, to answer the question directly: yes, it is wrong to be angry at God. Anger at God is a result of an inability or unwillingness to trust God even when we do not understand what He is doing. Anger at God is essentially telling God that He has done something wrong, which He never does. Does God understand when we are angry, frustrated, or disappointed? Yes! He is our Heavenly Father; He is more than able to handle His child that is essentially having a temper tantrum. He knows our hearts, and our motives. When I told my Lord that I was angry at Him, I knew what I was feeling was wrong. I also knew, that He already knew what I was feeling and thinking. I prayed and told Him all that was in my heart, openly and honestly, because I needed His help "not" to feel this way. I needed His help to trust Him completely. The real problem was that I needed to mature. I was like a little toddler angry with their parent because I didn't like what they were doing.

 He knows our hearts and He knows how difficult and painful life can be in this world. Does that make it right to be angry with God? No; instead of being angry with God, we should pour out our hearts to God in prayer and then trust that He is in control and that His plan is perfect.

I recommend the book: The Attributes of God

A Journey into the Father’s Heart

By A.W. Tozer, 1997