Getting Angry With God
This past week I have been reminded that being a Christian does not give me immunity against unemployment, unpaid bills and $600.00 worth of debt.
Although I have chosen to follow Christ, I am first and foremost a human-being with struggles like everyone else.
I have been like the Israelites, while in Egypt desperate for rescue and after being rescued, being anxious about what the future holds and where I will settle.
Although I have been shown time and time again God's grace and love, I tend to forget that when in a state of frustration and anxiety.
Being living proof that there is a God is the daily devotional of every Christian.
Having that responsibility brings a lot of joy, but it is not without grief as well.
Ecclesiastes 1:12-13
"I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given the children of man to be busy with."
Before I was "born again" I thought that Christians had no troubles because they had God, they were airy-fairy, happy-clappers blessed in everything because they were obedient and righteous!
There is so much sadness and evil in this world and sometimes I myself question where God is.
Where is God in North Korea, Syria, Iraq and Russia?
Where is God in drought?
Where is God when children get abducted and sold as sex slaves?
Where is God when our loved ones are dying or sick?
Is God having a personal day?
Has he decided to stop caring for what he has created?
Isn't it terrible for a Christian to have such thoughts about God?
All of these questions smack of doubt, everything contradictory to what I have been taught.
I realised that if we don't ask these questions ourselves and put ourselves in the shoes of Unbelievers - how can we answer their questions?
Habakkuk was a prophet and he was uncertain about where God was and God answered him.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear?
Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralysed, and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous; so just goes forth perverted."
The Lord's Answer:
Habakkuk 1:5
"Look among the nations and see wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told."
After a bit more back-and-forth with God and prayer, the end of the story sees Habakukk rejoicing in God.
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, and the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer; he makes me tread on high places."
The moral of this story?
It is okay to be angry with God rather than anyone else.
I have a feeling some of you reading are shouting at your computer screen.
"OH NO SHE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!"
Well yes, I did. Allow me to explain further.
Throughout the Bible, there are people who are so hurt, angry and frustrated, at the end of their tether who get angry with God.
King David, Jeremiah and even Jesus, to name a few.
God's own Son was dying a slow, painful death on a cross and if man would not do it, surely God had the power save Jesus - but he didn't. Isn't that awful? How could God do that to Jesus?
Jesus had been beaten, publically humiliated, stripped naked and nailed to a cross.
Before he died, he cried out to God.
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
But had God saved Jesus there would be no redemption, no relationship for us with God - and that's another story. God did save Jesus - after he fulfilled his purpose and after three days, Jesus rose and spoke to his disciples before ascending to Heaven.
God is our Creator, He is powerful and His name is the first to come to mind when we are shocked, angry or frightened. The Man Upstairs has thick-skin - He can take whatever you've got.
It's better that you go to God angry rather than go crying to someone else and be led to believe that God does not care for you.
While I know that God cares for me, that He is always there, there are times when He is silent and that can lead to feelings of doubt, anger and hurt.
That just goes to show that I need to keep my cup of faith filled.
To do that I recall the times when God has answered and delivered.
When I was going through my depression and felt like I would never be happy again, I prayed to God to make me better - and He did.
I prayed God's protection over my family which has seen them through car-accidents and health-scares.
My favourite scripture which has been an ongoing theme for the past two years is Jeremiah 29:11.
Jeremiah 29:11-12
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you."
This is where I leave you today.
Remember that following Christ does not give us immunity against reality, but it provides us with an anchor, safe house in times of desperation.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that whatever you are going through, that you have peace with God.
- Sarah xx
Although I have chosen to follow Christ, I am first and foremost a human-being with struggles like everyone else.
I have been like the Israelites, while in Egypt desperate for rescue and after being rescued, being anxious about what the future holds and where I will settle.
Although I have been shown time and time again God's grace and love, I tend to forget that when in a state of frustration and anxiety.
Being living proof that there is a God is the daily devotional of every Christian.
Having that responsibility brings a lot of joy, but it is not without grief as well.
Ecclesiastes 1:12-13
"I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given the children of man to be busy with."
Before I was "born again" I thought that Christians had no troubles because they had God, they were airy-fairy, happy-clappers blessed in everything because they were obedient and righteous!
There is so much sadness and evil in this world and sometimes I myself question where God is.
Where is God in North Korea, Syria, Iraq and Russia?
Where is God in drought?
Where is God when children get abducted and sold as sex slaves?
Where is God when our loved ones are dying or sick?
Is God having a personal day?
Has he decided to stop caring for what he has created?
Isn't it terrible for a Christian to have such thoughts about God?
All of these questions smack of doubt, everything contradictory to what I have been taught.
I realised that if we don't ask these questions ourselves and put ourselves in the shoes of Unbelievers - how can we answer their questions?
Habakkuk was a prophet and he was uncertain about where God was and God answered him.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear?
Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralysed, and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous; so just goes forth perverted."
The Lord's Answer:
Habakkuk 1:5
"Look among the nations and see wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told."
After a bit more back-and-forth with God and prayer, the end of the story sees Habakukk rejoicing in God.
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, and the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer; he makes me tread on high places."
The moral of this story?
It is okay to be angry with God rather than anyone else.
I have a feeling some of you reading are shouting at your computer screen.
"OH NO SHE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!"
Well yes, I did. Allow me to explain further.
Throughout the Bible, there are people who are so hurt, angry and frustrated, at the end of their tether who get angry with God.
King David, Jeremiah and even Jesus, to name a few.
God's own Son was dying a slow, painful death on a cross and if man would not do it, surely God had the power save Jesus - but he didn't. Isn't that awful? How could God do that to Jesus?
Jesus had been beaten, publically humiliated, stripped naked and nailed to a cross.
Before he died, he cried out to God.
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
But had God saved Jesus there would be no redemption, no relationship for us with God - and that's another story. God did save Jesus - after he fulfilled his purpose and after three days, Jesus rose and spoke to his disciples before ascending to Heaven.
God is our Creator, He is powerful and His name is the first to come to mind when we are shocked, angry or frightened. The Man Upstairs has thick-skin - He can take whatever you've got.
It's better that you go to God angry rather than go crying to someone else and be led to believe that God does not care for you.
While I know that God cares for me, that He is always there, there are times when He is silent and that can lead to feelings of doubt, anger and hurt.
That just goes to show that I need to keep my cup of faith filled.
To do that I recall the times when God has answered and delivered.
When I was going through my depression and felt like I would never be happy again, I prayed to God to make me better - and He did.
I prayed God's protection over my family which has seen them through car-accidents and health-scares.
My favourite scripture which has been an ongoing theme for the past two years is Jeremiah 29:11.
Jeremiah 29:11-12
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you."
This is where I leave you today.
Remember that following Christ does not give us immunity against reality, but it provides us with an anchor, safe house in times of desperation.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that whatever you are going through, that you have peace with God.
- Sarah xx
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