Part Four in a series on anger. This is an excerpt from a Seminary research paper. For the full context, please see parts one, two, and three available on our blog.

Thus far in this series, I have focused on anger as a response of the heart to undesireable circumstances. Unfortunately, this anger can be directed at God when things don't go the way we hoped. We grumble about our circumstances, we grow bitter in spirit, and grow apathetic in our fight against sin. These are unbiblical responses to our situation that cannot provide the comfort that they promise. Only Christ can redeem the broken moments in our lives for our good. 

Part four turns to biblical responses to our anger when it is directed at God.

Biblical Response to Anger at God

Thus far the case has been made that life’s undesirable circumstances can lead to anger toward God that is expressed through grumbling, bitterness, and laxity toward sin. This anger and its varied expressions ultimately stems from doubts about the goodness of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the nearness of God. However, the Bible does not promise that our lives will always go the way our hearts desire. The world is corrupted. People will sin against us, we will sin, health will fail, and more will go wrong because the world is not as it should be. Indeed, even the desires of our hearts, still dealing with our own corruption, are not always directed toward that which is best for us. Sometimes our desires are sinful but this is not always the case. Many times, it is simply a matter that we, who do not know all things, do not know what is truly best for us. Therefore, it is necessary to consider a few Biblical texts that address the Lord’s role in our disappointment.

Matthew 6:25-34

Anxiety over missing out produces anger in the heart of many. Lawrence argues that this tends to well up in our hearts when we see others with the things we believe we need. R. T. France argues against this type of anger producing anxiety saying that “the antidote to worry (vv. 25–34) is a robust confidence in God’s willingness to give his people all that they need.” Jesus addresses this in Matthew 6 where he assures his disciples of God’s fatherly care for them. His point is that the Father’s provision for the birds of the air and flowers of the field should assure the believer, who is more valuable, that God knows their needs and will meet them.

The problem is that we are prone to mistake things we want for things we need. That’s not to say that we necessarily want bad things. It could be that we want good things for the wrong reasons (Jas 4:3). Of course, that is not always the case either. We very well may be desiring good things for the right reasons. For example, a single woman may desire a godly husband. A young man may desire a job to provide for himself and his family. A husband and wife may desire children. We all desire a good report when we go to the doctor. These are good desires!

However, we are not promised the good things we desire simply because they are good. We will see in tomorrow's post on Romans 8 that our heavenly Father works for our ultimate good. For now, we can conclude that what God provides, and also what he withholds, is for the ultimate good of his people. France again says “it is God as the Father in heaven who knows what is ‘good’ for his children, and as with a human parent his generosity may not always coincide with the child’s wishes.” Therefore, Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 provides comfort for the believer when it seems that we’re being kept from good things. God does not withhold the things his people need. He is generous to provide all that we truly need which is a balm for our anger when the expectations we have for our lives are unmet.

Ultimately he has provided for our greatest need through Christ. Your greatest need is not and has never been sex, money, companionship, work, health, children, etc. Your greatest need was and is peace with God which God has made with you through Jesus. Consider what Paul says in Romans 5. "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (v. 6), and then "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (v. 8), and finally "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

Christian, God has supplied you with what you needed the most: the forgiveness of sins, adoption as his child, peace with him, all the Spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3). He has given you that which is best for you! How much more then should we trust him to give us only that which is best for us, and to withold that which is not? 

James 4:13-15

James admonishes the business class for their arrogant boasting about their future plans. They say “we will go… and make a profit” (Jas 4:13) but James instructs them to say “if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (Jas 4:15). His point is that the Lord who is enthroned in heaven directs the affairs of men. He guides and directs according to his sovereign wisdom and, being all-powerful, it is his will that is accomplished in our lives. Anger at unmet expectations is a failure to remember or believe this reality. Douglas Moo states it this way: “what James rebukes here, as v. 16 will make clear, is any kind of planning for the future that stems from human arrogance in our ability to determine the course of future events.” This falls along the same lines as Powlison’s assertion that individuals are prone to erroneously act as if “I am God.” The anger that wells up within the human heart when expectations or hopes are not met must be explored to see if this stems from a mistaken understanding regarding control. 

We are prone to believe that we are in charge of our own destiny. If we believe in ourselves, work diligently, and perhaps do our duty in worship to God, then all that we desire out of life will come true. There is often even the faulty assumption that God owes us for the good things that we have done. This wrongly presumes control over the details of our lives and is precisely what James is confronting. Kurt Richardson sums it up this way: 

"Life is lived, but only if God wills, just as assuredly as deeds are done only if God wills. Their actions had been based on the earlier stated problem: “You do not have, because you do not ask God” (v. 2). What kind of faith was theirs? They did not make their plans in a devout way, acknowledging God in all their plans and expectations."

Anger directed at God over undesirable circumstances must be probed to see if it is the result of wrongly assuming that we have control over the outcome of our lives. This is a sin that must be repented of because, as Joel Lawrence points out, this is inconsistent with Jesus’ call to discipleship. We are the servant and not the master. We take up our cross and come and die. Recognizing this reality will lead the believer to repentance and renewed trust in God. This is the beginning of the path to finding rest from the difficulties and hardships we face throughout our lives. It is from this position that we can then begin to focus on what is true about the nature of God. The knowledge that God is ordering the events in our lives allows us to see that God is near to his image-bearers. However, this is only good news if God is good and if he means good for his people. This requires looking to what God has promised for those who love him.

Part five will focus on those promises.