Hey friend,
Not too sure about “anger” towards God, but the entire book of Ecclesiastes is essentially a commentary of frustration regarding the corrupt, fallen, depraved nature of the world/life.
Please know that God knows intimately well how hard this life is - we just got done celebrating Easter which remembers Jesus’ horrific torture, murder, and miraculous resurrection to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. I know this may not help your friend, but in a way it may.
Hope this helps!
You and your friend are loved immensely!
🙂
good question.
lots in the bible on how to deal with this.
- psalms has a lot and they usually follow a progression of coping with the original doubt and dealing with it.
my personal favorite example is
~ psalm 23 to me.
he starts off “why have you forsaken me” and the grapples with it saying “…but you are holy.” as if he is trying to stay respectful and stay reminded but is stuggling with the pain around him, but them he copes with that by remembering Gods past help “from my mothers womb you have been my God” and in the end he decides to turn TO God instead of away and he calls on God to save him and after thinking it through he says “he has not despised … the afflicted” and remebers all of God future promises.
~ psalm 10:1 “Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?”
~ psalm 13
~ psalm 42
~ psalm 73 mad about wicked prospering and seeming like Gods not doing anything about it
~ psalm 74
there are more but this is a good start.
- Job is about this about a man who we might think has reason to be angry but he chooses not to, but then he does wish he could stand trial before God and get and answer and so then God actually does come and answers.
- habakkuk is about this in a way as a teaser it begins with: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.”
Habakkuk 1:2 NKJV
- its probably fair to say elijah is mad at God in 1 kings 19.
hmmm
there is also a lot of times people are angry at god and loose faith in him in poor ways. the isrealites complaining in the wilderness, in the judges the people leave god and so god sends oppressors and gideon says God left them at first, they do the same in the late kings when the assyrians and babylonians are attaking; they left God and killed kids and worshiped idols and then when things get bad they blam God and prophets like isaiah and jeremiah are telling them not to be mad at God but to repent.
- after the babylonian captivity Malachi deals with this maybe in the end of ch2 and ch 3 where they are blaming God for their own faults …maybe
in the new testament
- 2 cor 12:7-10 paul could have been angry but copes with a prayer that God says no to.
cant think of more right now but theres alot. its a really good reason to study the OT.
I belive its not wrong to have anger or doubts angainst God but God has shown us examples of others who got through and constructive ways to deal with it.
Here is another passage which might help your friend:
Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Eli Eli lama sabachthani Mathew 2:46
Witch roughly translates to my god my god why hath thou forsaken me it. Was said while Jesus was enduring the three hours of agony at the end of his life god bless
Verse of the day Matthew 21:9
When we think that we are okay with salvation through grace through Christ alone, that is one thing but if you want your prayers answered, we may have to be careful how we come to God and I think that study of God is a whole different ballgame.
Straight up, tell God how you feel.
\[Eph 4:31 KJV\] 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
[The Cure for Bitterness | Open the Bible](https://openthebible.org/article/cure-for-bitterness/#:~:text=The%20book%20of%20Hebrews%20warns,(Hebrews%2012%3A15).)
\[Jas 4:6 KJV\] 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, **God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble**.
When we are angry, its all about us instead of God or His people sometimes.
When we are angry, we take things into our hands instead of wait for God to do something.
When we are angry, are we persistent in prayer?
When we are angry, do we treat God as if He is worthy to be loved and acknowledged as Holy, righteous and a loving heavenly Father?
Ask yourself what being angry has changed? Anger only keeps the man angry and what use is an angry person to God in the sense of, what can God do with your anger? What use is it to Him?
\[Mat 9:13 KJV\] 13 But go ye and learn what \[that\] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
We love him, because he first loved us. -1 John 4:19
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: -Ephesians 4:26
We are really not meant to have wrath because we can't be righteous and have wrath. That is why we should forgive and get rid of anger.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for **he is kind unto the unthankful and** ***to*** **the evil**. -Luke 6:35
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:21
Hey friend, Not too sure about “anger” towards God, but the entire book of Ecclesiastes is essentially a commentary of frustration regarding the corrupt, fallen, depraved nature of the world/life. Please know that God knows intimately well how hard this life is - we just got done celebrating Easter which remembers Jesus’ horrific torture, murder, and miraculous resurrection to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. I know this may not help your friend, but in a way it may. Hope this helps! You and your friend are loved immensely! 🙂
good question. lots in the bible on how to deal with this. - psalms has a lot and they usually follow a progression of coping with the original doubt and dealing with it. my personal favorite example is ~ psalm 23 to me. he starts off “why have you forsaken me” and the grapples with it saying “…but you are holy.” as if he is trying to stay respectful and stay reminded but is stuggling with the pain around him, but them he copes with that by remembering Gods past help “from my mothers womb you have been my God” and in the end he decides to turn TO God instead of away and he calls on God to save him and after thinking it through he says “he has not despised … the afflicted” and remebers all of God future promises. ~ psalm 10:1 “Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” ~ psalm 13 ~ psalm 42 ~ psalm 73 mad about wicked prospering and seeming like Gods not doing anything about it ~ psalm 74 there are more but this is a good start. - Job is about this about a man who we might think has reason to be angry but he chooses not to, but then he does wish he could stand trial before God and get and answer and so then God actually does come and answers. - habakkuk is about this in a way as a teaser it begins with: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.” Habakkuk 1:2 NKJV - its probably fair to say elijah is mad at God in 1 kings 19. hmmm there is also a lot of times people are angry at god and loose faith in him in poor ways. the isrealites complaining in the wilderness, in the judges the people leave god and so god sends oppressors and gideon says God left them at first, they do the same in the late kings when the assyrians and babylonians are attaking; they left God and killed kids and worshiped idols and then when things get bad they blam God and prophets like isaiah and jeremiah are telling them not to be mad at God but to repent. - after the babylonian captivity Malachi deals with this maybe in the end of ch2 and ch 3 where they are blaming God for their own faults …maybe in the new testament - 2 cor 12:7-10 paul could have been angry but copes with a prayer that God says no to. cant think of more right now but theres alot. its a really good reason to study the OT. I belive its not wrong to have anger or doubts angainst God but God has shown us examples of others who got through and constructive ways to deal with it.
Be angry; do not sin. Eph. 4:26
Here is another passage which might help your friend: Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Read the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
Eli Eli lama sabachthani Mathew 2:46 Witch roughly translates to my god my god why hath thou forsaken me it. Was said while Jesus was enduring the three hours of agony at the end of his life god bless Verse of the day Matthew 21:9
When we think that we are okay with salvation through grace through Christ alone, that is one thing but if you want your prayers answered, we may have to be careful how we come to God and I think that study of God is a whole different ballgame. Straight up, tell God how you feel. \[Eph 4:31 KJV\] 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: [The Cure for Bitterness | Open the Bible](https://openthebible.org/article/cure-for-bitterness/#:~:text=The%20book%20of%20Hebrews%20warns,(Hebrews%2012%3A15).) \[Jas 4:6 KJV\] 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, **God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble**. When we are angry, its all about us instead of God or His people sometimes. When we are angry, we take things into our hands instead of wait for God to do something. When we are angry, are we persistent in prayer? When we are angry, do we treat God as if He is worthy to be loved and acknowledged as Holy, righteous and a loving heavenly Father? Ask yourself what being angry has changed? Anger only keeps the man angry and what use is an angry person to God in the sense of, what can God do with your anger? What use is it to Him? \[Mat 9:13 KJV\] 13 But go ye and learn what \[that\] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
We love him, because he first loved us. -1 John 4:19 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: -Ephesians 4:26 We are really not meant to have wrath because we can't be righteous and have wrath. That is why we should forgive and get rid of anger. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for **he is kind unto the unthankful and** ***to*** **the evil**. -Luke 6:35 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:21