is it OK to be angry at God?

[SearchingforPeace]

I have a huge problem with anger, especially the anger of others, but also my own, being a e9. As I was flipping radio stations today, I came upon Dennis Prager interviewing Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, among other books.

Prager raised the issue of anger at God and Kushner dealt with it in an interesting way. Kushner cited Deuteronomy, where Moses complains he can't go across the Jordan. After this, Moses tells the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:5:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

He therefore said Moses was able to love God with all his heart because he was able to trust that his relationship with God was strong enough that anger wouldn't destroy it. If he held back his anger, he couldn't love God with all his heart, even the angry parts.

I grew up with the idea we need to humbly submit to the trials of life, though I can't remember if I was taught that or came up with that on my own.

Anyway, this year I have yelled at God at various times, which is pretty fair given the challenges I have in my life.

So, any thoughts on this? Do we need to let loose the anger we might have towards God in order to fully love him with all our heart?

I would prefer believers respond....

 

[Qlip]

Not only that, you can also wrestle God. A spiritual life is a complicated thing... (not a believer, not sure if I'm actually adding anything to the topic, but this feels relevant none-the-less)

Jacob Wrestles With God
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

[LonestarCowgirl]

I have a huge problem with anger, especially the anger of others, but also my own, being a e9. As I was flipping radio stations today, I came upon Dennis Prager interviewing Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, among other books.
...
Anyway, this year I have yelled at God at various times, which is pretty fair given the challenges I have in my life.

So, any thoughts on this? Do we need to let loose the anger we might have towards God in order to fully love him with all our heart?

I would prefer believers respond....

I believe God wants you to be honest with him about what’s on your heart. If you see Him and come to him as your Heavenly father, who loves you infinitely and wants what’s best for you, then, you won’t be afraid to be honest with Him.

I look at a relationship with God like I do a family dynamic. We begin as infants both physically and spiritually. The more we understand God and who He is, the more our faith grows, and the more our spirit matures.

Just like babies who start out crawling and drinking milk, our spirit also starts out similarly, growing slowly as we come to understand spiritual principles and the mind of God. Eventually, we grow to maturity, in faith and in trust, to the point that we know, no matter what happens in our lives, God works everything out for our good. (If you have your own children and you’re a loving father, then you can understand how God our Father sees us as his children.)

Some struggle in their mind with the existence of God. The first step in spiritual growth is overcoming the doubts and opening the heart to knowing who God really is… that he exists and that he truly loves us unconditionally (because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf).

You might be struggling, but try to stop looking at yourself. Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. Open your heart and receive Christ's love. Know that God is for you, not against you and that he listens.

When you cry out to God, he can answer you in a tangible way that you will know without a doubt that he's with you and for you; He did it for me; He will do it for you.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Yes. He can handle your anger.

 

[Poki]

Yes, you have the right to be angry at anyone. It's how you handle the anger that matters.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Sometimes anger towards god is a projection of our anger towards our authority figures - most often a father figure. God is like a father authority turned up to 11. If our own authority figures were abusive and misused their power, then facing god with his 'infinite' power takes those feelings of harm to their extreme. In those cases it is healthy to feel empowered to push back and be angry at god.

Also, if god is all knowing and all loving, then certainly he would understand our anger better than we do and not take it personally.

 

[fetus]

Of course. It's always okay to feel. Of all people (beings?), God is the one who can take it.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Yes. He can handle your anger.

Yes, but is it beneficial?

God can handle anything. But does it benefit us to unlock our anger versus God?

Throughout my life, I have tried diligently to align my will with God's, to develop attributes such as patience, compassion, humility, long suffering, diligence, etc. To put it in very 9ish ways, I sought to merge my will into his. As such, I have endeavored to close the gap berween God and me. I trusted in his guidance in my life and valued the deep understanding he bestowed on me.

I saw it as a virtue to submit to the challenges of life, knowing that they would be for my benefit as I learn and grow.

I never got angry at God for the trials and challenges I have faced......until the last few years. Then I mostly railed against God that if this was all it was going to be, I would rather be dead. Anger at God seemed to me a disconnecting activity, but I guess I got that wrong.

I guess my question should have been, "Can anger get us closer to God?" If it allows us to love God with all our hearts, holding nothing back including anger, then I guess it is a benefit.

 

[chubber]

Didn't some guy sue. Or was that a movie.

 

[Snoopy22]

Being humble to God strikes me as different from being humble to the trials of life, proper anger is acceptable, just being an angry person is not.

 

[Forever]

Think about what anger means: it means you could've done something but you have a blockade to climb over. Find out what that blockade is, remove it or overcome it and hop over and anger disappears.

I don't ever get angry with God, He has allowed His children to do what they please and He let's us work it from there. It's not belittling to me at all because God has put us on a level playing field. It's the faults of man that we should be angry and be the example of who we want to be.

 

[JocktheMotie]

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

In seriousness, I think you're really angry at yourself.

 

[Also]

I think people are at their best when they feel fewer emotions at lower intensities but that's impractical maybe.

The reality of your situation is that you are angry at God and like others have said, it's important to be honest about that. The real question is, is your anger justifiable? Have you analyzed your reasons and concluded that you have found fault in God?

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

In seriousness, I think you're really angry at yourself.

Again, I posted this thread because I heard a discussion on the radio.

But perhaps you are correct. Who betrayed me the most, who has hurt me the most, throughout my life? Me......

 

[Mademoiselle]

UNLESS GOD WAS UNFAIR
but error404 that reason is not found

Man if you think God can't burn you in hell right now, think again, but have you ever felt happy before? Yes, meaning God is not willing to hurt you.

I want you to know God is more powerful than you think, but also more merciful than you think.
Because you've made it so far, and be sure you'll, God doesn't change his mind he knows the future, that's a basic super power, LOL

The point is, you're meant to be unharmed so whatever you think you're experiencing now is misunderstanding.

Wipe your foggy glasses and try to imagine what could be ahead of you, that worths all this pain you already have.


Did I hopefully made my point clear?

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I think people are at their best when they feel fewer emotions at lower intensities but that's impractical maybe.

The reality of your situation is that you are angry at God and like others have said, it's important to be honest about that. The real question is, is your anger justifiable? Have you analyzed your reasons and concluded that you have found fault in God?

No fault in God. My anger is that I have spent my life trying to do his will, trying to endure through very difficult challenges.

As uumlau posted on my blog long ago, God doesn't give us greater challenges then we can handle, so by that standard I am a badass.... So, I feel very justified at being angry at him for the challenges I face, I guess.

But this is not the point I was trying to raise..... I kept my anger towards God in check (rarely acknowledging it at all), just like I don't let anyone get my anger they deserve. I have never expressed anger to my parents for their parenting, or lack thereof, which would be justified, nor the other people in my life who really deserve to realize the harm they have inflicted on me. Instead, my empathy and compassion kick in.

So, on the same standard that in order to truly love someome with all your heart, you must express your anger at them and not hold back, I guess my compassion prevents a full love for anyone, since I hold back so much.

 

[JocktheMotie]

Again, I posted this thread because I heard a discussion on the radio.

But perhaps you are correct. Who betrayed me the most, who has hurt me the most, throughout my life? Me......

From what you've described, you mentioned you aligned yourself to what you perceived to be the will of God. There are personal sacrifices you have to make in order to hold yourself to that standard and when those sacrifices are in vain, it's natural to be angry that your suppression of self didn't bear the fruit you felt that suppression entitled you to.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

From what you've described, you mentioned you aligned yourself to what you perceived to be the will of God. There are personal sacrifices you have to make in order to hold yourself to that standard and when those sacrifices are in vain, it's natural to be angry that your suppression of self didn't bear the fruit you felt that suppression entitled you to.

I have long thought that patience and suffering can refine a person. In my life, people are so shocked about what I dealt with and they know little of the full reality. I try to be grateful for the challenges. But the cost is high.

I know my many blessings in life. I could recite them. I keep a graditude journal just to list things I am thankful for.

I don't need fruits today, tomorrow, or next year. I can wait.

But I can be grateful for challenges and still angry at them at the same time. Being angry at the challenges is much more in the moment......

 

[ZNP-TBA]

If there was a god I'd be pretty angry at him. A being that is omnipotent and omniscient can't even help suffering people in the world. Why is it that most people would be angry at some douchebag not helping a drowning child if it is within his ability to do so ( but he refuses and claims its part of a bigger "plan")but people apologize up the wazoo for God neglecting so much suffering.

 

[Ivy]

Yes, but is it beneficial?

God can handle anything. But does it benefit us to unlock our anger versus God?

I don't think it benefits us for us to swallow it down. If you feel anger with God, I think it's probably most beneficial to express it. Of course, there are healthy and unhealthy ways of expressing anger; my sense is that the most beneficial way to express anger at God is to process it as you would anger against anyone. That's difficult since it feels like a one-sided conversation. But it seems like there are healthy ways to process anger without getting feedback from the target of the anger; see: how we process anger at family members who have died and are no longer immediately/physically accessible to us.