Is it Okay to be Mad at God?

I don’t know if you have seen or heard the Fray’s new song “You Found Me”. You can hear the song below and I also posted the lyrics after it.

I found God on the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west was all but won
All alone smoking His last cigarette
I said where You been, He said ask anything

Where were You when everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by a telephone
That never rang and all I needed was a call
That never came to the corner of First and Amistad

Lost and insecure, You found me, You found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why’d You have to wait, where were You, where were You
Just a little late, You found me, You found me

In the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who’s ever known
Who I am who I’m not and who I want to be
No way to know how long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, You found me, You found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why’d You have to wait, where were You, where were You
Just a little late, You found me, You found me

Early morning the city breaks and I’ve been calling for years and years
You never left me no messages, You never send me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I want

Lost and insecure, You found me, You found me
Lying on the floor, where were You, where were You
Lost and insecure, You found me, You found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why’d You have to wait, where were You, where were You
Just a little late, You found me, You found me
Why’d You have to wait to find me, to find me

They recently played this song on our local Christian radio station and my wife was telling me that after they played it the DJ was talking about how it was kind of a depressing song, and sort of indicated that she (DJ) was shocked that they were playing it. And my wife agreed with her. We were discussing it this morning and she was stating that she felt that it wasn’t the best song just because they should only be playing songs that are a more positive viewpoint of Christianity. And I disagreed.

I stated that I disagreed and that we should give a more honest view of the Christian life, which is not all rosy and sunshiny. Sometimes life really stinks and that God would rather have us be honest with Him than try and hide our feelings, since He knows them anyway. Besides it is Biblical to share your honest feeling with God, even if that means being angry with Him. David did this a lot in the Psalms. Check out: Psalm 13:1-6 (How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?), Psalm 22 (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ), Psalm 35:17-18 (How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages), and Psalm 42:9-11 (Why have you forgotten me?). Don’t those words sound like someone who might be a bit angry with God?

But there is an important thing to remember in all of this and that is found in Ephesians 4:26.

“In your anger do not sin”

I think people need to see Christians as real people and not hiding behind these masks hiding how we really feel. I have many people tell me that what bothers them about Christians is that they are not real. They would rather see Christians admit to their true feelings.

And just because I may get angry with God at times that does not mean that I have abandoned my relationship with Him. Just like when my wife and I get into a disagreement that doesn’t mean that we have fallen out of love with each other. It just means that we have a differing viewpoints.

So I personally do not think that it is wrong to be angry with God and Scripture backs that point up. In fact, I would daresay that it can and will at times help us to build a closer relationship with Him. It is in the struggles of relationship that we can and should find ourselves growing closer together.

So I think that this song by the Fray is a great song to be played on the Christian radio station, because it shows us as real. You can read Isaac Slade’s thoughts on the song here. Being real with God is such an important thing and also very healthy. What do you think?

I am a follower of Jesus, a husband to Kim, father to Hannah & Caleb, and the connections pastor at The River Church. The thoughts expressed here are my own and not The River Church's.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *