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Is it OK to be Angry at God?

by | Mar 15, 2019 | Grace, PTSD, The Year of Gratitude

Is it okay to be angry at God?

The last two days have been hard. There have been quite a few stressful moments and I have been so overwhelmed. Emotions of all kinds have flowed, along side tears.

When disappointments hit, sometimes worshiping God is the last thing I want to do. If I’m complaining to Him and He interrupts me and asks me to worship, I will often snap back and say, “No! It’s not fair!” and I shake my fist at God and continue yell and pout.

In my childhood culture, I was taught to always have a good attitude, no matter what. We always had to be happy and joyful and thankful and pretend all was perfect. We could never get angry or sad; depressed or disappointed. And we certainly could NEVER take our anger out at God.

But life isn’t all happy and perfect. Not at all. Yes, the Bible says to rejoice and be thankful, but it also says to weep with those who weep. The Psalms are full of angry, distraught, and depressing poems, so why in the world do we think those emotions are not appropriate?

I don’t think Jesus ever wanted us to deny our true feelings. I also don’t believe He ever rebukes us when throw out our doubts and questions toward Him. What He does ask of us, is to simply come to Him. With all our mess. With all our emotions. With all our anger. With all our brokenness.

So when #alltheemotions are flowing and I decide to indulge for a few minutes in a self pity party and throw my anger toward God, what do I finally choose to do when He asks me to worship?

~Em

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About the Author

Emily Elizabeth Anderson is a Christian blogger and rising activist for people who have experienced abuse within a Christian environment.

After growing up in a fundamentalist cult for 23 years and experiencing childhood domestic violence, Emily began her journey to recovery in 2015 and eventually found Jesus to be her ultimate healer. She soon turned her passion for writing into a blog and her story has since been featured on several media outlets including NPR.

She married her best friend, Joshua, in 2020 and together they are passionate about educating on the realities of trauma survival and recovery, as well as supporting survivors they meet through their online community.

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