Anger At God

We want to decipher God. We want to figure Him out. We want to turn him into a video game, a book, or a Rubik's Cube. We want something that we can finish, unlock, and put on the shelf.

Once we understand something we can make sure it follows the rules. If it does abide by the rules we experience comfort. If it breaks the rules we experience anger. Think about sports. There’s anger that enrages thousands when the referee misses the call.

The question emerges: Does/can God miss the call? We certainly act like he has the ability to. Our rage and bitterness is frequently focused on God rather than the sin that should be the focus of our anger.

More questions: Why? Why are we so easily angered at God? Perhaps it stems from partial belief? Let’s examine two extremes of the spectrum…

A) A true atheist. If a true atheist exists, they are incapable of feeling any true emotions toward God. I don’t believe in Santa Claus, therefore, when my car breaks down or my wife gets sick or when a friend dies…I am incapable of being angry at Santa Claus. Any anger at God assumes the existence of that God.

B) Who else is never angry at God? We need to stretch ourselves here…we need someone who is the total opposite of an atheist…someone 100% confident in the existence of God. Hopefully, without cheating, I can use Jesus as an example. Equality with God seems in some way to be the opposite of atheism.

So, does someone 100% confident in the existence of God get angry at God? Was Jesus ever angry at God? Did He have reason to be?
When Lazarus died…
When His Father was sending Him to a cross…
When He wept…
…was He angry at God? Did He have reason to be?

What does this tell us? I think it tells us that any anger at God must exist because we live our lives somewhere in the middle of this unbelief scale. There seems to be some sort of tension here, and I think it comes out in many of the Psalms. On the one hand, there's alot pointing to a brutal honesty of our emotions toward God. But, on the other hand, a contentment with our lack of understanding of God does not seem to be encouraged (James' "count it all joy" passage comes to mind).

I've been thinking about Psalms 116 a little bit lately. Here are two verses from this optimistic Psalm (make sure you check out the context sometime):

I believed, even when I spoke,

'I am greatly afflicted';

I said in my alarm,

'All mankind are liars.'

The two quotations seem as though they are statements the author is not proud of, in one sense. But, he still admits that he believed when he spoke. Even honest discontent still reflects a belief in God. Perhaps we can call this "anger" at God. If so, the emotion doesn't seem to be the problem, I think the problem is the follow up to the emotion. Do we feed the emotion with Truth or do we follow it up with an extra dose of self-pity? I think it's a hard question to answer, because the question seems to imply some limits to our negative emotional expression toward God. ...all sorts of slippery-slope troubles seem to tie me up in these thoughts.

For the sake a semi-short post, I have two thoughts. Anger at our situations, frustration at God, whatever we call it, needs to be expressed. It's honest...if God already knows how we're feeling, why should we try to mentally hide anything from Him. But, these emotions need some reminders of who God is...and I think they specifically need reminders of the cross. If anger at God is only possible along side of a level of unbelief…then, that unbelief begins at our understanding of the cross.

Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

God had to be up to something when He sent His Son to the cross. Sometimes we act/think as though God was up to nothing when He sent Jesus to die.

A second passage that seems relevant is Paul's quotation of the Psalm mentioned earlier.

II Corinthians 4:13-14

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke,' we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

Although I haven't done alot of study on this passage, there seems to, at the least, be an emphasis on an overarching awareness of God's love through the cross in our speech. I think it's safe to infer from Psalm 116 that any expression of frustration or anger toward God be reigned in with thoughts of God's love through Christ's death.

So, in regards to anger at God. I think it stems from a lack of understanding of God. And, since a full understanding of God and His ways is impossible...maybe the best thing we can do in times of intense hardship is meditate of the love expressed through the cross, have faith in a God bigger than us, and, if possible, relax. There is much good in seeking to know God more. But, red flags should appear any time we think we have God figured out. He’s not a puzzle. He’s not a riddle. And, I think it is safe to say that He never misses the call.