Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. Will you speak falsely for God, and speak deceitfully for him? Will you show partiality toward him, will you plead the case for God?”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, June 19, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
It’s okay to accuse God. Lament in the Bible is a powerful thing. By calling God to accountability for God’s promises, we take an active role in our covenant relationship with God. We’re not just passive recipients of God’s promises, but active participants in them. Through the practice of lament, people exercise agency—it moves them through despair to action. Here, Job is sick to death of his so-called friends telling him his suffering is all his own fault and God has every right to be punishing him. Job calls them out, and by extension, God. It’s not a rejection of God in the slightest—Job never loses his faith, despite all the terrible things that happen to him. Instead, it is an affirmation of his faith, and a claiming of God’s promises.
I think we’re often afraid to get angry with God, as if it somehow means we’re being unfaithful. Not so. God can handle our anger, and the practice of lament can lead to healing.
What things am I angry at God about? Have I told God I am angry?
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