God Never Blinks: Lesson 8

IT'S O.K. TO GET ANGRY WITH GOD. HE CAN TAKE IT.

Quotable Quote: "God doesn't want us to be so Holy we aren't human."

Like many Christians, I spent most of my life thinking that it was never o.k. to be mad at God. I knew that I wasn't exempt from problems just because I was a follower of Christ. It was always clear to me that God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matt. 5:45) The gift of free will comes with a price: accepting the fact that as long as we are living this side of heaven, life will not be perfect. And since none of us want to be God's automatons, who are we to complain?

But over the past several years I've come to believe that God would rather have a relationship with me based on honesty rather than false humility. He would rather have me share my anger towards Him than have me stuff it inside and pretend all is well. When I finally allowed myself to do so, oh boy.....did the floodgates open. I've shouted at God....I've accused Him of not even remembering my name let alone the number of hairs on my head.....I've told Him in no uncerain terms what I thought of the saying "God won't give you more than He thinks you can handle." It's not that I expect my life to be free of trouble. I just expect that I will be able to deal with that trouble better because I have God on my side. And sometimes it just doesn't feel like it.

Now don't get me wrong....I'm not saying it's good or ideal to be angry with God. After all, Job got an earful when he tried to question God's motives. I have reason to believe that God understands it though. We know what He thinks about those who "act" religious. The Pharisees found out He's not a big fan of playing a part when your heart's not in it. David called out to God, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?" God recognizes that we are human, and though anger in itself is not a sin, it can, however, be the cause of sin. When we get angry at God and stay angry for too long....our relationship with Him suffers. When we let anger become our first response to every frustration in life.....our relationship with others, and our own spirit, suffers. And let's face it....angry Christians don't make very good missionaries of the gospel.

But I've learned that the closer my relationship to God, the more I am talking with Him and understanding His heart, the less likely I am to be angry with Him. When I am letting Him walk by my side throughout my day, I am less likely to shout at Him "What's up with that?!" with each spilled glass of milk, migraine headache, and mommy meltdown. But then I think of the day He went to the tomb of Lazarus, witnessed the frustration and despair of Mary and Martha, and then....wept. He didn't say, "Who are you to question me?" He didn't say, "Why are you crying? Don't you know life isn't fair and that's the way it has to be?" Instead, He wept.

And sometimes if I listen really carefully when I yell "What's up with that?!", I hear a voice answer back, "You're right, what is up with that?!"

And then He whispers, "I don't like it much either, and I'm sorry life is so hard, but hang in there, friend."