Chris' Christian Blog

January 25, 2021

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Prompt: "Is it okay to get angry with God? Why or why not?

I preached on this subject today."

Yes. I believe it is perfectly okay to get angry with God. I believe it is also okay to let God know that we are angry or disappointed. God already knows how we are feeling. All too often we approach God as if we have to act in a certain decorum and etiquette. After all, He is the God of the universe and we are mere humans, unworthy to approach his throne. When we do approach his throne we grovel and kiss up and act like we are in the presence of a judge who will rule us to be in contempt of court if we act in any manner that might hurt His feelings or shock Him. I submit to you that God is also our Father and wants us to approach Him with complete trust and respect. Who among us ever holds back our true feelings from those we love and feel comfortable with? God wants us to be completely candid with Him. He already knows we are angry with Him. Just say and don't hold back. He's a loving Father who allows us to beat on his chest yelling "But why Daddy, why?"

In my sermon yesterday, I used Psalm 13 as my text. The psalter, presumably David, was not happy in this psalm. He practically accuses God of not caring that his enemies are closing in on him and ready to kill him. He essentially asks God if God has taken leave of God's senses? He is brutally honest with God about what he is feeling. He vents his venom all over God just as God allows all his children to vent their anger. God then calls David "friend" and says that David is a man "after God's own heart".

Why does God do that? God does that because David is honest with Him and then after David vents his anger David says "nevertheless You are my God and whatever happens You are in control. David's faith does not waver. He does not abandon God but continues to trust Him enough to fully vent his anger and express his unwavering faith. God allows us to be real with Him. Nothing we say is going to shock God and the only way we dishonor Him is if we disobey Him. We are His children. He wants us to trust Him enough to be real with and transparent with him.

"Prompt: I was cruising the galaxy with Johnny Depp and found this planet:

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Write about a lovely day.

Princess Megan Snow Rose I could think of many people I'd rather go to space with than Johnny Depp! lol! To each his own. I just never was a big Johnny Depp fan because my dad used to make us sit quietly while he watched Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street when I was young. Bad memories of that.

A lovely day to me is any day I wake up breathing. I guess I wouldn't wake up at all if I weren't breathing but you understand my meaning. I simply enjoy life and even the boredom and isolation of COVID-19 has brought its blessings. I try to learn something each day and I make it a point to be thankful. One of the biggest sins of the children of Israel in the desert wanderings was complaining. They would complain about their circumstances and God would punish them for it. I believe God has everything under control and that belief gives me a sense of peace and serenity that even I often do not understand. I do not know how many times I have found myself in a situation where I should have been in panic mode but instead found myself feeling calm and collected. I remember when my kidney was blocked. I was in severe pain. My blood pressure was 210/110 and my heart rate was nearing tachycardia (too fast). The doctor told me I had to have emergency surgery or I was going to die. The doctor asked me how I could remain so calm when my very life was being threatened. I told the doctor that I knew Jesus Christ was in control. If I lived, it would mean I got to serve Jesus. If I died it meant I got to be with Jesus so it was a win-win for me. The doctor walked away scratching his head.

Life is what we make of it. If we see fit to be resentful and bitter then we'll be miserable. I choose to be serene. My favorite quote comes from the Big Book (Alcoholic Anonymous) fourth edition page 417 which says "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today."

As it goes on to express, I have one of two choices in life. I can look at each trial as an opportunity to learn something and an opportunity to change something that isn't working, or I can lay down in defeat and feel sorry for myself. I choose to take life's lemons and make lemonade.

"Prompt: "It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone." Mahatma Gandhi
What do you think? Have you ever felt that you were standing alone?"

I never stand alone because I find myself safely tucked away in the hands of Jesus Christ. Yes. There are times when I feel He has abandoned me. At those times I inspect my life to see if I have done something wrong and thus sinned against God so that God is not revealing Himself to me. If so I take action to correct the wrong. There are times when I realize that there is no sin that I am aware of and God is simply not making Himself felt at that time. When that happens I know by faith that God is still there. Faith is believing that God is there even when I can not feel or sense His presence. Hebrews defines faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", Hebrews 11:6.

What the Hebrew writer is telling us is that faith is absolute trust despite all evidence to the contrary. I believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later. I believe that God is always with me even when I feel vulnerable, overwhelmed, and oppressed. Faith tells me that God has not budged whether I "feel" His presence or not. My feelings do not matter. God does not depend on my feelings nor do I. I trust God no matter what therefore I am never alone.

God is also omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere at the same time. The prophet Amos writes that "If I am at the bottom of the sea" God is there. If I was on the moon God would be there. If I was at the farthest reaches of the universe, God would be there. Since God is everywhere it is impossible to be anywhere and be totally alone.

"Prompt: “Loneliness is for me a source of healing that makes my life worth living. Talking is often a torment to me, and I need several days of silence to recover the futility of words,” said Carl Jung
With us writers being word-people in mind, what are your thoughts on the subject?"

Those are mighty big words coming out of a man who claimed to be an expert in psycho-analysis. Jung may have had his own brand of psychoanalysis but in the end, it still boiled down to listening to people talk. He made his living listening to people talk so he must not have found them terribly intolerable.