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Anger is the aircraft carrier in the fleet of our emotions. Not only because of its massive size, but also its ability to do harm because from it proceeds a multitude of other feelings—grief, sadness, hatred, loss, horror, and doubt.
Anger in itself is not necessarily wrong. It is an emotion God has given us, but as with anything He has given us, we must not elevate it higher than Christ. If we allow our lives and hearts to be defined by our anger, we are worshipping at the altar of our emotions, not at the throne of God. As children, we expressed anger freely, first physically through crying and temper tantrums, and then, hopefully and with parental guidance, through appropriate verbal expression. As adults we learn how not to express anger and instead spend millions on drugs to anesthetize the inevitable pain of keeping it stuffed too long. If anger is suppressed it leaves us in a state of helplessness and usually leads us to avoid divine help.
When it comes to being angry with God, we really have only two choices:
- We can talk it out. We could express to Him how we feel (even if most of this conversations is filled with our screaming).
- We can sulk. In most instances, when we are angry with someone—even God—we avoid him all together. Sometimes it’s easier to pout and have a pity party than actually deal with the issue.
If we don’t deal with our anger head on it will rear its ugly head in some other way. This can be dangerous. More explosive. Only dig us into a deeper hole. Expressing our anger to or toward God is all a lot easier said than done, I understand. Most of us accumulate anger and resentment like a collection of bugs. At some point those feelings swell up, tip over, and spill into all areas of our life, creating a deep sense of bitterness for reasons we can’t even remember.
Anger is universal, but the ways we deal with it vary, and often it is our strategy for handling anger that is wrong, not the anger itself. Be honest with God about your anger. He is big enough to handle it. But then patiently wait for Him to be clear with you in return. He may be able to change your situation by simply changing your perspective.
