Angry at God

David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. 1 Chronicles 13:11

I have many destructive appetites and flaws. Some are genetic and some are environmental but either way, I didn’t pick them. I didn’t choose to like donuts or drugs.

I am of course, responsible for my actions, which has caused me to be angry at God. How am I responsible for behavior that stems from appetites that I didn’t choose? You made me like this! This is your fault!

I don’t know how God felt about my anger, but I know it was part of growing my faith. Had I never questioned God, I never would have searched for the why. I never would have come to see that it is my need that drives me to abandon myself to follow God daily. I wouldn’t know and love Him the way I do now.

David, one of the godliest kings of Israel, knew anger at God. In today’s passage, the Israelites were transporting the ark of the covenant, when Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart, reached out to steady the ark. The ark was not to be touched though, and God immediately struck Uzzah dead.

David, like me, found this unfair and was angry at God. In his anger (and fear), he refused to bring the ark home to Jerusalem as had been planned.

Anger, like any other emotion, is an involuntary response, which is not wrong in itself. It’s what we do with it. David allowed his anger to distance him from God for a time, but we aren’t told that God chastised David for it. David and God made up and David eventually brought the ark home.

David’s anger stemmed from not understanding why God would do such a thing. If we believe God is God though, His ways must necessarily be higher than ours and His will, at times, will seem unreasonable to us. God is not responsible to meet our sense of fairness. If He is God, He gets to define justice and it is up to us to accept this in faith.

My anger at God could have driven me to abandon Him, which would have been a destructive response. Instead, I used my anger to motivate me to know Him more.

We’re not promised that God will explain everything to our satisfaction, but God is big enough to handle our anger. It is up to us what we do with it.