What do you do when you have been mistreated and you feel angry about what has happened? As Christians we often feel like we need to stoically swallow our anger. This isn’t what God expects. He wants us to bring our feelings to him, whatever they are and whether or not they are justified. If your point of view or attitude is not right then God will deal with that, but not if you don’t come to him. God wants you to bring everything to him in complete honesty and frankness. That’s what you do in a relationship. There are many psalms that express anger. Many people find these psalms disturbing and are often inclined to push them aside in disapproval. People talk about them as belonging to the “Old Testament” as though these expressions are now invalid under the New Covenant in Christ. It’s as though, under the New Covenant, we aren’t allowed to honestly tell God how we feel. It’s as though we aren’t allowed to get angry when we are mistreated. How is this a better covenant? No, God always wants us to tell him how we feel, even in our anger. For otherwise we will be in danger of expressing our anger in unhealthy and destructive ways. In Romans 12:19 Paul tells us that we should not take personal vengeance, but rather, we should treat our enemies with kindness. The reason, he says, is that vengeance is God’s prerogative (vs 20). The psalms aren’t contradicting this. They are acknowledging that vengeance is God’s prerogative, and they are leaving their grievances with him.
Is there anything that you are still angry about? Bring that to God and let him speak to your situation.
Read Psalm 59.
