Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Loss of Life
I cannot imagine what the family, especially the parents, in Oregon or Washington is experiencing right now! Imagine if you lost five of your best friends in one accident, how terrible. Makes you wonder if God is really in control. Which brings me to another question. Is it okay to be mad at God? Have you ever been mad at God? This kind of experience would tend to make me question God's goodness and be angry with Him for allowing it to happen.
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If Christians were honest with themselves, they would have to say they've been angry at God for difficult things that have happened in their lives. I think we are scared to admit to God that we are angry. I don't think it's wrong- it's an emotion. I hasten to say...we must be careful what we do with our anger.
Often for myself, I can be angry at God, but refuse to talk to Him or others that are trying to help me learn how to live. This is a hinderance to growth. I think Jesus is calling me and inviting me to come to Him with all of who I am.
I've been challenged to "look Jesus in the face" telling Him honestly what I'm feeling and thinking about Him and life. This may sound trite or simple- it's not. Learning to come to Jesus when we are so angry is hard, difficult and it often feels unproductive. It can feel this way because I'm so angry that I can't hear Jesus...I'm so busy resisting Him and trying to be in control of my life.
Can anger be a tool that drives us to Jesus?
Joanne Yoder
That is a good question......
I will ponder that one.....
I appreciate the honesty, I must say, I agree with you. I would not want to see an individual stay or live in a state of anger.....
Where does the biblical example of Job come into this discussion? If anyone ever experienced loss, it was him. His response was "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" and "the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." I also thought it is interesting that it says that "in all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." Job definatly didn't understand things and questioned God, but in the end it would sound like he was repentin of it.
When I look at how Job handled the loss of everything he had it makes me feel pretty ashamed of how I react when things don't go my way.
I don't know, Job also had a very long and honest discussion with God didn't he. I think you can be "mad" at God and not charge him foolishly. Their is a difference between being upset or mad and being bitter about the things that have happened. Is it possible to overcome anger if you are not willing to admit that your upset with God over something? I wonder iat times if we/I have grown up with idea that we are never to be upset with God, but we can be upset with other people. I think it boils down to a lack of honesty. Can you honestly say you have never said, God, why this, why now, I don't understand, not again, and been upset or angry about it? I have......
I think, for me, it is a way of dealing witht things. Maybe it boils down to my immaturity, and those who are mature never have this problem, which I doubt.......
Okay, now you can blow me out of the water....
PS I am not saying humans should live in constant anger with God, that is sin.......
I definitely agree with you Joanne! It's important for me to "look Jesus in the face", to tell Him that I'm having a hard time accepting something, or that I'm scared to give up this area to Him, etc. It's certainly not easy, but it's so good for me! I think Jesus wants us to have that kind of openness with Him. And I think anger can be a tool that drives us to Jesus, especially in that way.
Job? I don't know. I struggle to see God's point of view, that Job didn't sin or charge God foolishly. Maybe because I see too much of myself in Job there at the end.
~Susan
I would agree with you, Glen. And I may get blown out as well...........
If we don't deal with our anger, the results are devestating. Internalizing our anger doesn't take care of the problem. Neither is violently taking our anger out on other people a correct response to the anger we feel towards God and others.
Honesty- yes, honesty...A vey hard thing to do sometimes.
Joanne
Most times.......
I would like to take this opportunity to remind each of us parents, PLEASE! Buckle your kids in the car!! None of the children were buckled in and could that have saved them, I don't know. But it does save lives and is the law.
I grieve for this father!! The quantity of pain and shock must be almost unbearable!! I only pray that the God of all comfort can comfort him in all the ways man cannot, in his heart.
I do not judge him! I have "fudged" the seatbelt laws many times. Let me tell you what, it's not happening any more! And further more, put your self in his shoes. You think he isn't moaning over the choice to not take the little extra time to strap them in? The hardest part in facing any trial like this is knowing I should have done something different.
Back to Job. Yes, he did question God, but was that righteous questioning? Look what his respose to God was after God called him on the carpet for demanding an answer. Is it ok to wonder "why?" ABSOLUTELY!! Is it ok to demand an answer? No, I can find no place where God rewards that or even promises that. He has simply promised that He will bear the load with us and walk with us through the trials.
This story has taught me so much in the way I relate to pain and trials. Hope you don't mind GZ, about me putting a link here. :-)
From what I read over at Life in the Shoe the children were in fact in their seatbelts.
Lavern
This may be hearsay, but I've heard the report of the children not being buckled in was not true. I suppose speaking directly to the officer who worked the accident would clear this up for us.
I'd like to comment on the issue of feeling mad at God when these tragedies take place. First of all, I feel very much at a loss to know what to say in the face of such pain. And I also am much aware that I've never stood in Jeff and Caroline's shoes, so I don't want to make too many generalizations or give pat answers. What I do want to say is that I believe from what we read in the Bible, that God is Love, that He will give us His divine grace and strength when we need it, and that He carries us through the fire so that we will not be burned or through the water so that it does not overflow us. If we want to blame God for tragedies, then where is our gratefulness for His provision for us to cope and even grow through them? I believe the big picture shows God allowing tragedies sometimes but then carrying us through them for eternal lessons that we learn through them. Maybe even eternal salvation will be found in some people who would otherwise never have found it. This made national news. Can we not see national good come from it because of Jeff and Caroline's testimony of God's grace? I believe we can pray that Jeff and Caroline will respond to the loss of their children in such a way that God's divine grace and strength will be shown to the watching world.
Glen, I would see a difference between being upset at circumstances and being angry at God. I also think that it is sin to be angry at another person. I am not saying that I never get angry at people, by the way. I don't see how anger directed personally at people can be in any way richeous.
Modern christianity seems to think of God as a big fuzzy teddy bear. In one of my dad's sermons a while ago, he talked about a teaching he heard a while back about us forgiving God. I am sure that we would all say that is rediculous.However, it would seem to me that if we say that we are justified in being angry at God, then He must have done something wrong and we know that He NEVER makes mistakes.
Jewell, thanks for commenting. I want to clarify one thing, I was not suggesting that the people involved in this tragedy are mad or angry with God. I am sorry if that is what you thought I was saying. I was only saying,I am being very honest here, my response would be one of anger, confusion, and general hopelessness. Having said that, I appreciate the idea that this tragedy can be used nationally, God has reasons for allowing things to happen.
A belated comment here...the first news reports unfortunately and incorrectly said the children were not buckled in, but the policeman on the scene told Jeff's dad that the children were in fact all buckled in, and the news stories have thankfully corrected this error. The photos of the pickup make it understandable that they did not survive. You can't even recognize it as a truck.
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