Angry at God?

Good morning, Friends! We’ve been reading the Psalms here at worship for the last couple of weeks. We kind of tend to neglect the psalms today.

Most people know the 23rd Psalm, and leave it at that. But the Psalms are a rich source of prayer language. The more you read them, the more you’ll find them speaking to you. The Psalms put into words, the things we feel in our hearts. Often, the Psalms say what we want to say.

One of the things the Psalms do, is they ask questions that we all feel, but we’re afraid to ask out loud.

• Does God care?
  
• Has God forgotten me?
  
• Is God way in the past, or can I count on God today?

These are things everybody asks. You’re not being faithless, if you ask questions like these. Everybody does.

In our midweek Bible study a couple of weeks ago, somebody asked, “Is it all right if I ever feel angry at God?”

The whole room just held its breath for a minute. It was like, we all wanted to ask that question, but we were afraid to ask. We were afraid even to say it out loud.

And then, being the teacher, I said, “Yes, it’s OK to be angry at God. We all feel angry now and then.” It was like a dam broke, and for the next ten minutes everyone told stories about how they’d felt that way before.

The Psalms are one of the best places in the Bible to explore that feeling. There are literally dozens of verses where people just let it rip. They’re angry, they’re scared, they feel disappointed, they feel lost and powerless.

Even Jesus on the cross quoted one of the Psalms, when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away from helping me? I’m groaning, but you don’t answer? God where are you?” (Psalm 22)

If Jesus can say something like that, surely it’s OK for us to say something, when we’re way out on a limb, and it’s about to break.

Today, I want to read just a short Psalm. It’s short enough that you could memorize it easily if you want to.

It says what everyone feels. It walks us through what every one of us experiences at times. It asks our very same questions. And it shares a place where we all need to go.

God, you are my protector.
Please answer my prayer.
I was in terrible distress, but you set me free.
Now have pity and listen as I pray.
How long will people turn my glory into shame?
How long will people love delusions and seek false gods?
The Lord has chosen everyone who is faithful to be his very own.
The Lord hears when I call to him.
Be angry, but do not sin;
When you are on your bed, search your heart and be still..
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous, and trust in the Lord.
There are some who ask, “Who will be good to us?”
Let your kindness, Lord, shine brightly on us.
You brought me more happiness than a rich harvest of grain and grapes.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4

OK, again, here’s the question: is it OK to be angry at God? And I’m going to fire a question right back at you: Do you think God big enough to handle your anger?

Do you think God can’t handle it? Do you think you’re the first person ever to feel this way? Do you think God hasn’t heard it all before?

See, these questions are the other side of our angry questions. There’s no doubt that we feel hurt at times. There’s no doubt that we feel scared, and abandoned.

Why is this happening to us? We’ve prayed, we’ve worked real hard, we’ve led decent lives. Where is God in all this?

And – please don’t give me that line, “He’s just testing you!”

Is it a test, when somebody’s dying? Is it a test, when I lose everything? Is it a test when someone I love is suffering? What kind of a cruel test is that? God, what do you think you’re doing?

People ask me questions like this all the time. And so often, they feel ashamed and scared to be asking them. I’m a minister, and people think I’ve never heard anything like this before.

I think that I have heard just about every swear word in the English language. And sometimes, it’s not just in my presence, but at me.

People think that God isn’t big enough to handle their problem, or their anger. As if God hasn’t heard it all, from other people, so many, many times.

So, the first thing I want to say this morning is, if that’s the way you think, your idea of God just isn’t big enough yet. That was Job’s problem.

Job lost everything, in a whole series of catastrophes. He lost his family, his wealth, his house, everything. And to cap it all, Job came down with horrible sores, that left him tearing at his skin, night and day.

Job’s friends came to comfort him. But they also kept blaming him. They said, “Job, you must have done something wrong! You must have sinned somehow, for all these terrible things to happen to you!”

And over and over again, Job said, “I haven’t! I’ve always done the right thing. I’ve always given praise to God!”

Even Job’s wife got on his case. She told him, “Why do you keep fighting this? Just give up, why don’t you? Turn your back on God, and die!” (I think Job’s wife just wanted to collect on his life insurance.)

But at the end of the book, after 40 chapters of Job being angry at God, God finally spoke to him. God said, “Stand up and face me! Why do you talk so much, when you know so little? Where were you when I made the earth? Who decided how big it was going to be? Did you have a measuring tape? Did you plan it all?

Were you there when all the morning stars sang together, and all the heavens shouted for joy? Did you create light and dark, clouds and storms? Have you walked on the bottom of the sea? Tell me, if you know all this!” God went on and on like this, speaking to Job out of a tornado.

And finally Job says, “I guess you know more than I do. I’m going to put my hand over my mouth from now on! I know that you can do all things, Lord. I know that anything you plan can’t be stopped. I’ve heard other people talking about you, but now my eye sees you.

The bottom line for the book of Job is, “We don’t know it all. We can’t understand the big picture. Only God can.”

Sometimes that helps. We don’t know everything that God is doing. We don’t know why prayers aren’t always answered, the way we want them. God does. And sometimes, that’s the answer.

When you’re angry at God, it isn’t wrong. It’s better to be honest. But honestly, do you really think that God is that small? God has heard your cry, God has heard your anger, and the anger of millions of other people, over countless years.

Next, I want to ask, do you doubt the love and compassion of God? That’s a real question. Behind almost every kind of anger, there’s always fear. If someone tells me they’re angry, I always want to know, “What are you afraid of ?”

Anger and fear are like two sides of the same feeling. When we’re angry, there’s almost always something we’re afraid of, hiding in the background.

We’re afraid that God isn’t real. We’re afraid that God has left us. We’re afraid that we’re in danger, that our enemies will win, that God won’t help us. We’re afraid we’ve done something terribly wrong. We’re afraid that it’s our fault, and we’re being punished for it.

The first letter of John says, if you’re afraid, you haven’t let the love of God sink into you enough. Everybody’s afraid, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)

Fear and God’s love can’t exist together in the same space. They can’t be there, at the same time, in the same heart. If I’m angry and afraid, that means I’m not listening to God. I’m not hearing God say, “I love you. I love you!”

And here’s my next question: if you’ve done something wrong, do you really think that God can’t forgive you? Do you think God is going to end your world, or take your life, just because you lost it, or because you messed up somehow?

Let me ask you this – all those stories about how Jesus forgave people. Do you think those stories are in the Bible just to take up space? Do you think they’re not important?

Jesus forgave people, so many times, and he meant it. Forgiving people is what Jesus came here to do. Jesus wants everyone to know that God isn’t just loving – God is merciful.

God forgives. God wants nothing better than for us to turn back, and come home, and walk with him. Forgiving is what God does best, and God wants us to learn that so deeply, that we won’t be afraid.

Yes, God wants us to change our lives. But God doesn’t wait for us to change. If we take one step towards God, God takes three steps toward us. If we forgive someone else, God forgives us, right away.

Anybody ever heard that before?

And if you’re angry, and you think it’s God’s fault, is it really? Do you think that God wanted this to happen? Do you really think that God doesn’t care?

If your answer is yes, God doesn’t hate you because you feel that way. God’s not going to throw you out. God loves you, even when you’re angry.

Let’s go back and look at this morning’s reading from Psalm 4.

You are my God and protector – please answer my prayer.

This is the most basic prayer. This is the cry of the heart. “God, somehow I trust that you are there. You are my protector. Please answer me when I pray.”

I was in terrible distress, but you set me free.
Now have pity and listen as I pray.

Same story. Fill in the blanks. Tell God what’s got you so upset. God probably knows it all, already. But let it out. Tell God like it is. Don’t hold back. Say what you really feel. Tell God what you really think.

The Psalm asks, “How long will people turn my glory into shame?
How long will people love delusions and seek false gods?”

See, part of why we get so angry at God, is that we think that other people will mock us for our faith. We know that other people think we’re weak and crazy, for believing in God, for praying and expecting something to happen.

Faith and prayer are our glory. We believe, and we want the whole world to respect us for it. But now, we feel that God has let us down. We’re going to be mocked, we’re going to be pitied, we’re going to be sneered at, because we believed, we trusted in God. Were we wrong all along, to trust in God? Were we idiots, to pray and believe?

We’re told that other people are following false gods, like money, sex and power. We think they have no idea that looking out for #1 and stepping all over people will never get you into Heaven. Were we wrong all the time? Is our glory our shame?

The Lord has chosen everyone who is faithful to be his very own,
the Lord hears when I call to him.

That part of the Psalm is a word of reassurance. It’s a reminder that you have been called. God chose you to be a person of faith. God chose you to be someone who believes.

We are called to follow Jesus. That means to walk where Jesus walked. To do whatever Jesus did, as best as we can. To share Jesus words. To share the good news that God’s kingdom is very near. To share his peace, in every home we enter. To pray in Jesus’ name. Yes, and sometimes to suffer, in our small way, as Jesus suffered.

But always to forgive, because that’s what Jesus did. To work for peace, because Jesus said that if we do, we’ll be called children of God. To weep with people who weep. To bless, and not curse. To be humble, because Jesus was humble, and knelt to wash our feet. To love, as he loved us.

Now we come to the turning point of Psalm 4. This is the line which everyone remembers when they read it: “Be angry, but do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be still.”

This is a piece of advice which is echoed many times in the Bible.

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. . .” (Ephesians 4:26)

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Everybody gets angry. It’s a fact of human nature. You, me, everyone else. We get angry at each other, we get angry at ourselves, we even get angry at God.

Do you think that God doesn’t already know what you’re thinking? Do you think that God doesn’t already know how you feel? Saying it out loud, or admitting to yourself how you feel, can sometimes be more helpful than bottling it up until you explode, or holding it in until something breaks inside of you.

It’s one thing to be angry. It’s another thing to let it destroy you. We’ve all met people who are always angry. It’s like they’re always on the boil. Sometimes it’s just below the surface. But it’s always there. That kind of anger is destructive. Feeding your anger, nursing a grudge, always being offended, never letting go.

It’s not that some things aren’t wrong. They are. But anger can turn into sin if we don’t forgive and be forgiven. Anger can force a wedge between you and God. God doesn’t make that separation. We do it to ourselves, and we do it to each other.

Being angry once in a while? We all do that. But anger as a way of life? That’s a way of death. It’s time to turn back.

The Psalm writer says, “When you are on your bed, search your hearts and be still. . .”

Be angry, but don’t let it destroy you. Don’t let it tear you apart. I saw a sign once, “Don’t let worry kill you – let the church help!”

I guess you could take that two ways. And the same can be true of anger. Don’t let it kill you. Don’t let it destroy, what matters so much, your heart, your soul.

Don’t let fear grow into anger, and don’t let anger turn into rage as a way of life.

Jesus himself got angry at times. – he saw people who were turning God’s house of worship into a marketplace. He pitched a fit and he trashed the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple and drove them out.

Two things always got Jesus angry – hard-heartedness and hypocrisy. He couldn’t stand either one. That’s a whole different sermon. But those are things that made Jesus angry.

The way to fight anger isn’t with more anger. The way to fight the fire, as the Psalm says, is to be still. That’s partly why we have our quiet time during open worship every week. When we’re quiet, we see ourselves, and we let go of things.

One of the Old Testament prophets said, “In rest and returning you will be saved; in quietness and in confidence is your strength. . .” (Isaiah 30:15)

You’ve all heard people say, “Count to ten.” The writer of the Psalm would probably say, “Count to a hundred. Count until you find you stop counting. Let go, and let God.”

The very last line of Psalm 4 is also worth memorizing. It’s a verse which many people say as a prayer when they go to bed at night.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

God, bless us all. Help us to be honest with ourselves, and honest with you. Help us not to forget, but to forgive, because you have forgiven us so much.

When our anger has become a burden, or when we hurt those we love, we’re hurting ourselves. Help us to release, and to be released.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.