121507

a daily reflection

December 15, 2007

God, I'm Angry

by Shana Schutte

At a former job, I hung a poster outside my cubicle showing Lucy from the Peanuts screaming, "Look out everybody! I'm gonna be cranky for the rest of the day!" Lucy's announcement became a joke with my co-workers because she's so not like me.

In my youth, I learned that anger was unacceptable, possibly because I often saw it misused. Then when I came to Christ, this faulty message was reinforced in church. After all, good Christian boys never get angry, right? Wrong. Not only is this teaching wrong, but God expects that we'll experience anger. Jesus never said, "Don't get angry," but He did say, "Be angry and don't sin" (Ephesians 4:26). In this Scripture, He acknowledged people would get angry. Why? Because anger is a secondary response to emotional pain. And no doubt there's a lot of emotional pain go around on this sin-filled planet! Anger will happen!

Anger is like a red light on the dashboard of a car signaling that something is wrong under the hood--that there's a hurt that needs to be given to God. Anger also has the potential to take us to places of deeper intimacy with Christ when we bring our disappointments to Him for healing.

How can you do this? Yell or scream when no one is around or run outside and holler. You can also do what author Muriel Cook calls "Hot Pen Journaling." Write down your true emotions without sweetening it. Be real. Tell God the truth. Then ask Him to show you what's fueling your anger so He can minister to you pain through prayer and His Word to help you avoid or overcome being offended.

Some time ago, I was angry when someone I loved hurt my feelings. Rather than denying how I felt, sinning by taking it out on someone, or seeking revenge, I beat up my bed. I yelled. I screamed. I clobbered it as hard as I could. The result? I felt 100 percent better. I forgave the person who wounded me, and thanked God for loving me. Minutes later I was singing a song, proclaiming His truth and praising His name.

For some people, being real about their anger may sound sacrilegious. After all, aren't the most holy men and women composed and postured even when the world and the devil walks all over them? The Psalmists who wrote inspired by the Holy Spirit were honest with God about their most raw emotions--including anger. To cry out in anger and anguish because life hurts is normal.

I'm not saying that it is okay to mock God or treat Him with irreverence. Certainly there is a difference between taking your anger to God for healing and aiming your anger at God in defiance. Taking your anger to God in humility means that you are operating in faith--that you've chosen to trust Him with your most uncomfortable and ugly emotions, and approach His throne of grace with confidence so that you can find mercy in your time of need (Hebrews 4:6); and you've opened your heart to Him in faith knowing He has an answer for your disappointment.

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