Mad at God

I think it is possible to be angry at God without having sinned. Look at the examples of David in the Psalms. In places he sounds angry.

Psalm 10:

Why, O LORD , do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

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But later on

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless...The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD , the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

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Again in Psalm 13:

How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me.

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and later

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

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One last example, Psalm 22:

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

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but

I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

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David sounds to me to be angry at God, along with a whole lot of other emotions, but the way he keeps saying how powerful God is and how much he trusts in God tells me that he was not in sin.

Now go back to what Joseph_Botwinick posted from Job and contrast. If you back up to Job 31, which is the the last place I find Job talking, he is full of self-rightousness. Job goes on for a long time about how good a person he is.

Job 31:9-12

If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.

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This is just an example of the tone of the whole chapter. To me, Job seems to be trying to say that he could understand what happened to him if he had done something really bad. But that since he was a pretty good person, God should have not let it happen. He doesn't get that no man is good enough and so God rebukes him. Job was angry and in sin.

Just because David was angry at God does not mean it was ok. Being angry at God and pointing an accusatory finger at him is a sin.

Joseph Botwinick

Many times we are mad at God because He is the easy target.

Someone dies, and we say, "God, You could have prevented this. You let them die." And we take all of our pain and frustration and hurl it against God.

Is this a sin? Yes. But, you know what? God already knows. And He has a broad back. Did not Peter write for us to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us?

God sets Himself up to be the fall guy, but that's OK. Because, in the end, we (like Job) learn that the world does not revolve around us. Rain falls on the just and the unjust, just as death visits the young and the old. It is only through maturity that we come to realize that God is not at fault, but rather it is our own perception of the circumstances that are wrong.

The world is not set against us, but it can feel that way. If your friend cannot move past that, all you can really do is pray for him. No amount of reasoning will ghet through the pain and guilt that he has mounded up against God. You are not called to be the vehicle of reconcilliation, but an intercessor before the throne.

Give him time and space. Let him run, because, in the end, he will run smack-dab into God. How do I know? Because I have been there. I lost a sister, 27 years old, two weeks after she graduated with her PhD. She was not saved. I ranted and railed at god, and cursed His very existance. I ran as hard and as fast as I could. And when I had exhausted everything inside myself, I stumbled into the waiting arms of God. Although I couldn't take back what I had said and done, God let me know that it was already taken care of on Calvary.

Just give him time.

In Christ,
Trotter

Originally posted by Aaron:
Anger toward God is indicative of:

1) Self-will
2) Distrust
3) Impatience
4) Ignorance

etc.

Never at anytime is it a righteous action, and it is therefore a sinful and invalid human response.

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Nothing we can do is "righteous" per se.
This simply reinforces the point that we do not deserve the Grace bestowed upon us.

Agreed.