Angry at God?

I am frequently asked if it’s OK to be angry with God, and my answer, without hesitation, is always “yes.”   I base this on Martin Luther’s first rule of prayer, “Never lie to God.” 

            You see, I firmly believe that God can deal with almost anything --- even our anger.  What He can not deal with is our silence.  He cannot cope with our turning away, with our pretending all is well when it is not. 

            If we will not speak, if we will not listen, there is nothing God can do.  He will not force Himself upon us. 

            Pretending we are not angry runs against the scripture, where time after time persons of faith pray in loud angry waves, railing against the God they love -- and then finding their relationship with the Lord not torn asunder but knit together once more, at times even stronger. 

            One of my favorite passages about this comes from PSALMS NOW  Psalm 88.  I should warn you, it is not a feel good psalm with a happy ending but I think we all know the truth of it:  .......

            “My life is one long series of conflicts and defeats... 

            Without strength, forsaken, shunned bythose around me,

            I feel as if I were separated forever from You.

            I am assailed by afflictions, attacked by obsessions,

            and all but forgotten by God and human beings.       

            and yet I cry out to You even when the assaults of this life

            and the fear of death surround me and close in on me. 

            I look to You for some ray of hope.

As despairing as this Psalm may be I think of it as a Psalm of great hope, for it is unashamedly honest and allows God space to reply.  Angry at God? Be angry.  Just don’t turn your back and walk away.