QT 9 Mar 16, Ps 73:21-23, It is okay to vent to God

Psalm 73:13–17, 21-23 (RSV)

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

14 For all the day long I have been stricken,

and chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have been untrue to the generation of thy children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I perceived their end.

21 When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22 I was stupid and ignorant,

I was like a beast toward thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee;

thou dost hold my right hand.

NOTE: I think one of the mistakes that believers make is not being honest to God with their feelings. Of course, we can't actually hide our feelings with God, so we fool ourselves into believing that we are okay on the inside. We put up facades and we present ourselves as stoic--a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining (google definition). We even go so far as to believe that stoicism is the Christian ideal! Or that faith and a stoic response have some equivalency. How foolish we are! The prayer warriors of the bible were honest with God about their feelings. Even Jesus in his prayer to the Father expressed his heartfelt emotion, not what he felt he was required to say. It is sad that we place on pedestals those who are strong stoics as our examples of faith. And if you want to point to Job, then you haven't read the whole book. It is okay to vent at God. He is big enough. He can take it. There are many Psalms, where David, the man after God's heart, vents toward God. It is a good thing to do. And then after releasing our emotions, we can hear God and we begin to realize that what we want most in life, is not those things, but God himself.