Emotions in the Psalms

Reading Psalms often shocks me, especially when we see the author vent in all sincerity to God, without holding back. Why, then, when we go to pray, do we start with “Our heavenly Father, thank You for Your blessings,” when what we really want to do is explode and vent about how stressed, tired, and in need of help we are? God can handle it, I am sure! Because we are guarded around everyone else, we often act the same way around God.

We may be guarded because we feel we are strong and do not need to express ourselves. It could also be that we fear rejection or judgment from people around us. The sad truth is that all of us need a safe space to vent every once in a while.

When we read the following sentences, we understand that even Bible characters dealt with great frustrations from daily life: “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things” (Psalm 12:3, NKJV). “O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled” (Psalm 6:2, 3, NKJV). These Bible characters knew that the best place to take those frustrations was to Jesus. I know I did not quote the most intense verses that sometimes pop up in the Psalms—the ones that leave us embarrassed or shocked that someone actually said such things out loud. However, I think those grenade verses are there to teach us we can truly, completely, safely vent to God. Our prayers do not need to be scripted by religious formality that results in their becoming a kind of mantra we play on repeat.

We can be real with God. He is there to listen. He loves us, and He longs to help us grow and heal from whatever situation we are in. Some days, or most days, it is hard to deal with our “neighbor,” or the “brethren,” as we like to say. That is totally normal.

Some days we get angry because we see “the wicked prosper” (Jeremiah 12:1, NKJV). Some days we are frustrated because the enemy seems to have the upper hand. But God is there on the good days and the bad days. He is always there.

So take it all to Jesus; He knows who you really are, and He loves you.

God sees our flaws, but He also sees what we can be if we trust our lives, including our emotions, to Him.

Yvita Antonette Villalona Bacchus