I was reading Jeremiah 20 one day, and I came across an all too confusing passage in verse 7. It's important to note that the confusion arose not because of the faultiness of the word but because of the faultiness of my understanding.
In the scripture, Jeremiah cries out to God saying, "You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me." Wait a minute, did I read that right? Did Jeremiah just call God a liar?
Of course, further study, with the Spirit of God as inspiration, led me to the revelation that the word "deceived" here actually literally translates to the word "persuade." But there's no denying that Jeremiah was expressing anger here, which led me to a question that I asked God sincerely: "Lord, is it right for us Christians to be angry with you sometimes?"
The idea of anger relates to an intense feeling of displeasure and disagreement. Can we indeed be displeased with God and still have a right heart? Of course, we all know that it's possible for us to be out of sync with God's heart because we are sinful beyond compare, but it is, as a matter of fact, never right to go against God's will and commands.
However, it is also not right to say that we should never express anger to God. In Jeremiah 20, the prophet is obviously expressing a deep sense of anger. What sets this account right, though, is that Jeremiah is not getting angry with God, but he is, rather, expressing his anger at his circumstance to God. Is there a difference? Yes, there is, and a major one, in fact.
In our lives, we will at one point or another experience a trial or challenge. When this comes, it would be hypocrisy to say that we won't feel a certain amount of frustration. And when this happens, God would desire for us to express our frustration with the situation to Him. I like how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 142:5: "I cry to you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'"
God invites us to cry out to Him and express our pain and suffering, not in a way that puts the blame on God and questions His authority, but in a way that expresses our weakness and limitation, resulting in a cry for help.
In that sense then, we will always have the right to express anger and frustration to God, but we never have the right nor authority to be angry and frustrated with God.
In Jeremiah 20:9, the prophet -- after venting his hurt, anger and frustrating out to God -- declares, "But if I say, 'I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." In the end, Jeremiah does not question or doubt God, but, rather, relies on His infinite power to see him through.
Are you frustrated today? Cry out to God, and tell Him about your pain, but always remember that God makes all things work together for your good, and His purposes are always true and just.
