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I am angry with God
Pain, Despair, Anger – Bring It to God
In the thick of motherhood, one of the most important things to know is that you can be fully yourself, and that God sees you. At Raising Her Faith, we desire to walk alongside you in life and motherhood as you deepen your faith and grow your family in the love of Christ.
As a Christian wife and mother of four, and a blended family, I know what it’s like to juggle family, faith, and personal challenges. Today, we’re diving into being fully yourself with God, just as we encourage our kids to be fully themselves with us.
Can we even be angry with God? It’s a question that can feel controversial, but the answer lies in the relationship we have with Him.
The only person who dares to wake a King at 3:00am is a child…
God is our Father. Throughout Scripture, we see Him described as a loving parent. In 1 John 3:1, we’re reminded: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” This fatherly love gives us the freedom to approach Him without fear, even when our hearts are heavy with anger or sorrow.
Pastor Tim Keller once said, “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.” Not only does God give us this kind of access, but He cares for us deeply, even in our darkest moments.
As parents, we understand this intimately. Is there anything your child could do to make you stop loving them? No. In fact, when my children are angry or broken, I want them to come to me. I want to be the one to comfort them and walk them through it. And that’s exactly how God views us.
Being Honest with God
So, what do we do when we’re angry with God? The beautiful thing about parenting is that it gives us a glimpse into God’s fatherly love. Our love for our children is profound, but God’s love for us goes even deeper.
God is not distant from the real you. You can bring your true self to Him, even if that means carrying a heavy load of anger, doubt, or despair. God hears all prayers—He doesn’t pick only the “good” ones. He isn’t afraid of our emotions. He wants us to bring them to Him.
In the Bible, we see examples of people who were brutally honest with God. The psalms of David, particularly Psalm 39 and Psalm 88, are filled with raw prayers of anger and desperation. The psalmist even asks God to leave him alone! God doesn’t say “Eeeew, I don’t want this text in my Bible!” And yet, these psalms remain in Scripture because they show us that God welcomes our honest, even painful, prayers.
God’s Faithfulness in the Darkness
God isn’t a God who turns away when we’re angry or in despair. He is a God of mercy and grace. Mercy means we don’t get what we deserve; grace means we get what we don’t deserve, abundantly more. Even when David messed up, God still called him a man after His own heart. If God can work through the broken, angry, and afraid, He surely has a heart for all of our mess, too.
When we bring our true selves to God, He shows us His true self. God doesn’t promise a life without challenges, but He promises to never leave us or forget us and He promises that His faithfulness knows no bounds.
A Personal Story of Desperate Prayer
When I was pregnant with my son, I feared it would be a “Job” story. The doctors gave us worse news at every appointment, and we were left wondering if we’d lose him. During that time, my prayers were desperate. There was no “Thy will be done,” just pleading with God for a miracle. I was not angry, I was desperate. I sat in that desperation for 5 grueling months, carrying a child that might be the end of us both. Doctors told me to abort, I refused. My God is bigger than medicine. I had the faith, but I had the desperation also. I imagine my prayers sounded a lot like the raw prayers of David, Job, Hannah, Sarah, Elijah, and the like. Good company. A company of people who did not pray “pretty.”
In the end, my son was born perfectly healthy, knit together by God’s own hand. Even in the darkest days, I knew God was good, even though I didn’t understand His plans. Today, I still pray with desperation, but I trust in God’s faithfulness, knowing He is with me through every challenge.
Encouraging Your Children to Bring It to God
As mothers, we can teach our children to bring their emotions and struggles to God. There may come a time when they feel they need to hide their true selves from us, but we can encourage them to bring everything to God. Just as we aren’t afraid of their emotions, neither is He.
So, mama, keep praying—bring it all to God. He is always near, ready to carry you through.