Mad at God

It sounds sufficient what you did. I have found that most people angry with God are so because of circumstances that God "either made happened or allowed to happen". Teenagers by nature have come to be disallusioned with the world and its workings. So God and authority figures get the first blame.

 

Our only obligation is to present the truth of the Gospel as best we can.

How someone replies to the call of God is not our burden. I think you handled it well.

 

What a trite thing to say, do these kids get 3 square, access to schools & a roof over their heads?

 

There is never an excuse to be mad with God. Being mad with is really saying one of a few things:

- God should have done this rather than doing that
- God should have done this for me or given me this
- I know better than God
- God is the source of my troubles

All of those attitudes are dead wrong and are quite frankly dangerous. People who are angry with God need to be instructed carefully in order to correct their attitude toward Him. They need to be told:

- Man doesn't deserve anything good
- God isn't the source of evil or trouble
- Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God
- These gifts are bestowed by grace, we are not owed them
- Man brought trouble into the world by sinning
- Satan is the force bringing about evils and troubles in the world at this present time, and is currently attacking God's people

 

I have been mad at God. Actually, "mad" doesn't begin to describe the feelings I had, and I've been there more than once. Thankfully God is big enough to continue loving me and holding me even when I was kicking and screaming.

While you did good, I would lay odds that your words either had no effect or made them madder at the situation. That's not your fault, though; having been there I can guess at the internal reactions.

The things that got through to me were understanding that I was not the center of God's plan, that He wasn't revolving the world around me. When my sister died unsaved, I was insane with anger at God over it. It took time for God to get through to me, but when He did He showed me how her death was not a punishment but rather was a part of the effects sin had upon the world. Her death also exposed a huge number of people to the gospel as it was preached at her funeral (the funeral home couldn't hold all the people who were there)... and we're talking academics and professional psychologists (she was a professor of psychology at Auburn).

Understanding that all things that happen to us are building blocks for who we are to become also helped me. Looking at my sister in a coffin, or my dad dying on a hospital bed, has shown me the brevity and fragility of life as well as the urgency of sharing the gospel (in my sister's case).

To wrap up my speech , love them and empathize with them. Let them know that God is God and they are not (but in a much more gentle way). Let them know that although things may seem like God has it in for them, this is not the case. The things that have angered them may not have had anything to do with them directly but was a part of God's plan for something else... something that we won't see this side of heaven.

 

Well Said. :godisgood: