Living The Psalms With Jesus: Grow Closer To God Through PrayerНамуна

"Lament and Anger at Enemies"

I love the Psalms of lament and anger in the Bible, because they show us that these feelings aren’t evil. Feelings of anger towards those who have hurt you or hurt your loved ones are completely normal. Feeling as if God has abandoned you, left you in your greatest time of need, is also completely normal.

In the Psalms, you’ll find many hymns where the writer is asking, “Lord, where are you?” If you are human, you probably feel this way often. It’s not wrong or bad, but it’s how we respond to these feelings that matters most.

It seems that an unhealthy view about anger and sadness is permeating our culture. When you have shared your anger, have you ever noticed that some people push back? It seems they don’t want you to feel anything at all, or simply to pretend as if nothing is wrong. This doesn’t help because you still feel angry, but now you also feel shame for your anger. It becomes like a pressure cooker inside of you that can boil over into other types of destructive behavior.

Then, there are people who go the opposite direction, encouraging you to blow up and go into a rage. This is also unhealthy and destructive.

Anger and sadness are a part of life. It is a good thing to give voice to these feelings to God and others in a way that is loving and Christ-like. This will give us a deeper healing and a richer inner life.

Prayer: Dear Father, I don’t want to hold onto angry feelings, stuffing them down or blowing up inappropriately. Hear my prayer and help heal my heart. You are my protector and comforter and I need not feel alone. Amen.