How do you approach God when angry?

Breaking Point

Everyone has a breaking point. There is only so much frustration and anger one person can endure without losing patience. 

When I was a freshman in college I reached that breaking point. At the time I shared a two bedroom apartment with three other guys on my baseball team. These were good guys, but like all 18 year old college baseball players they had their attitude issues. Then again, so did I. 

After a period of time, though, with all of the trash talk and no privacy to escape the constant banter, I just had enough. I did't even know what I was feeling at the time. I could not put it into words. It was a deep sense of hurt and pain that I could not escape. So I took off on a walk down the road. 

Escape

I walked probably four or five miles. I cried while I walked. I yelled and screamed as I walked. I cried out to God for help while I walked. My frustration at my roommates and my living situation turned into an anger toward God. I wanted to him to relieve the anguish right then. Fortunately for me, I was walking in a small town where there were no people in earshot otherwise they would have thought I was crazy. 

When I reached as far as I wanted to go I walked up to a gas station and called my mom from a pay phone (yes, there were pay phones in 1998). We just talked for a few minutes about nothing in particular. It was nice to hear her voice and be reminded of the normalcy I still had in life. My mother still loved me and cared deeply for me. She was always there for me. 

Reflection

After expressing my frustrations and having some time to think through my feelings I began to calm down. Life was not really as bad as it felt while I was in the heat of an argument. God was still God and the world was still in one piece. 

If someone heard my words as I walked that night they would have thought I was a terribly angry and disgruntled person. I expressed things to God that revealed my very limited perspective on life. Many times I sounded even disrespectful toward God and unappreciative of what he had done for me.

Job's Outcry

When I read Job's words I see the same attitude toward God that I had. Certainly, Job had a much worse situation in life than I had. His friends accused him of wickedness after he lost all of his wealth, health, and children. My friends were simply being obnoxious 18 year old boys. 

Nonetheless, Job approached God with an attitude that revealed his lack of eternal perspective. He said, 'Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)'. He expected God to answer him on his terms.

Surely, if anyone had reason to cry out to God it was Job. Fortunately, God is bigger than Job realized. God was not ignoring Job. God was not ignoring me.

Your Frustrations

So what about you? What frustration have you experienced? What anger have you endured. 

How have you responded to God in the midst of your turmoil? Have you accused him? Have you called him out?

What will it take for us to see God for who he is? What will it take for us to respond to him with eternal perspective?