The most frequently asked question during any time something bad happens, is “why,” or “why me, God.” After this, depending on your worldview, you will either become angry with God or begin to worship God. Is there a time in which God loses control, and bad things begin to happen in your life? Are we as humans supposed to be immune to circumstances we deem as less than pleasant? Is it ok to sometimes get angry with God?
Think of the time when something great happened in your life. What did you immediately attribute that success to?
Now, think of something bad, that happened in your life. What did you immediately attribute this calamity to?
How we approach and categorize a tough situation in our life, will determine what that situation will do to our life.
Tragedy Brings About Sobriety. When a catastrophe happens, we are awakened to the reality that we are not in charge. Everything that happens in this world is either caused by or allowed by God. Jesus said that not even a sparrow will fall to the ground, nor a hair from your head – without God knowing about it (Matt. 10:29-31). So we have the choice of either entrusting the situation to an all-knowing God, or entrusting the situation to a mistake-prone person. God promises that despite the severity of your situation, He will give you His peace and strength, that surpasses your chaos and your weakness (1 Cor. 10:13). Just because Jesus saved us, this is not a guarantee that we won’t experience difficulty in our life.
Your Anger Reveals Your God. The Bible is clear about inappropriate anger: It is a sin (Gal. 5:20; Eph. 4:26-27; 4:31; Col. 3:8). Ungodly anger gives way for the devil to have a stronghold in our life. It is self-defeating because it destroys us, by us. Holding on to and harboring anger, allows bitterness and resentment to creep in and take residence in our heart. Since God knows our hearts, it is best to go to Him in prayer and confession, about your anger.
One of the best ways to handle anger is to pour out your heart to God, because He will hear you and you will be heard by Him.
Anger Is Idolatry. Anytime you get angry at God for something, you are consciously declaring that you know best. You begin to worship what you think would be better for you. We can’t just think about what bad thing God allowed to happen in our life, without acknowledging all the good things He has allowed to happen in our life. Yes, in your life, you will experience trials and tribulations. But Jesus has overcome all of that. Despite the catastrophe in your life, Jesus is still sufficient, loving, merciful, kind, good, righteous and holy.
When we see our difficulty as an opportunity, not a calamity, we begin to worship God, instead of being angry with God.
The greatest book in the Bible on suffering, the book of Job – even tells us that “we are destined to experience trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job. 5:7), and that “life is short and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). The trouble we experience in our life should not define us, but rather it should refine us.
Anger at God is our inability to trust God that He knows what He is doing, even though you don’t specifically know what He is doing. Being angry at God is essentially telling Him that He did something wrong, which is impossible (Ps. 18:30).
- Does God know when we are angry or frustrated? Yes.
- Does God know that many things that happen in our life, do not make sense? Yes.
- Does this give us a right to be angry at God? No.
Instead of being angry at God, we should pour out our hearts to God.
Jesus Took Upon Himself Our Grief. On the cross, the wrath of God was poured out onto Jesus, on our behalf. We do not have to get angry with God, because in the person and work of Jesus, all of our anger and frustration and uncertainty has already been resolved. Our anger at God is a by-product of our unwillingness to submit to a sovereign God. This is why God does not always give you what you want, but He does give you what you need – no matter how much it might not make sense (1 Pet. 5:7).
Question: What specifically can you say to someone who is angry at God? Have you been angry at God? How does looking at your situation through the lens of the gospel, change your perspective?
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