God’s Heart of Anger, Grief, and Love

I can finally say with millions of others, “I’ve been to Vegas!” But I can’t let “what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas” because it’s too important. When we asked Roy’s brother and sister-in-law (who moved out there in May) to give us the first-timer’s tour so we could experience the real Las Vegas, I had no idea the anger, grief—and love—it would stir in my soul.

We learned so much about great food, Hoover Dam, and even bingo. (Did you know they have machines that will play 84 cards at once and mark everything for you?) But I wasn’t prepared for the things my heart would experience when faced with the “lostness” swarming us.

I think we got a rare glimpse into the very center of God’s heart. It was stunning. Shocking. A little frightening even. And life-changing for my prayer life. Grief and anger are necessary ingredients for powerful prayer—but only when fueled by love.

Come with me to Vegas and discover what I learned about God’s heart…

The Journey Began

I’d been able to maintain a sense of humor in the casinos. I felt a sense of grief when we walked “The Strip.” Though we’d grown somewhat “conditioned” by a large homeless population while we lived in the Portland, OR area (2007-2016), the homeless on the Vegas Strip took panhandling to a performance level. One man even had his baby propped up in the hot sun as part of his draw. They sang, danced, even had pets doing tricks. I came away deeply mourning.

However, on Friday night, we went downtown to “Old Vegas” on Fremont Street and witnessed the mockery of humanity. My tolerance reached its limit, and grief turned to anger.

And it felt like a subtle shift. A thin veil between grieving to fury.

We saw painted on the Strip’s sidewalks and on Fremont Street 3-foot-diameter black circles (not exactly like the circles in the photo, but similar). As it was explained to us: anyone could get a permit to “rent” a circle, which gave them permission to conduct any sort of business inside that circle—within Las Vegas’s very permissive laws.

Some of the “commerce” we saw done in those black circles stirred the fury I’ll describe…

My Response

As I walked hand-in-hand with my husband of thirty-seven years, I felt rage. How could those people degrade the one-flesh relationship God had intended for marriage alone—the most intimate representation of oneness was being celebrated by bondage, pain, trickery, and deceit.

Roy leaned over and whispered, “Sodom had nothing on this place.”

And it hit me like a brick between the eyes. Was anyone interceding for those people as Abraham interceded for Lot?

God’s Response

A few days after we returned home, I told my 91-year-old mama about our trip and my visceral reaction to what I’d seen. By then it had dawned on me that it was God’s GRIEF over humankind’s sin that had moved him to destroy the earth by flood:

“The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” Genesis 6:6 (NIV ’84 – emphasis added)

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin both GRIEVED and ANGERED Him:

“Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous…’” Genesis 18:20 (emphasis added)

“The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur . . . like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . . . which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.” Deuteronomy 29:23 (emphasis added)

Gentle Wisdom

I explained the dawning realization that grief and anger were so tightly knit together that I’d slipped from one to the other and back again repeatedly during the past few days. Never before had I experienced such a burden for prayer and the powerful zeal that drove me to the only One who could save those people from the deceiver.

“This isn’t the everyday-kind-of prayer,” I told my mom. “I think I finally understand the wrath of God—it’s His grief that crosses the thin veil into anger. Back and forth. Back and forth. And He lets us experience the same fervor so we can pray His heart back to Him.”

That’s when my mom made this profound statement:

“And the fuel for holy grief and anger must be love. Without God’s love as motivation, we’d all just be sad and hateful.”

Wow. Just, wow. My mom has the wisdom of 60+ years following hard after Jesus.

Simple Lesson, Hard Life

I see and hear a lot of sad and hateful people these days—some who don’t know Jesus but some claim to be followers of Christ.

Listen, I know politics and a pandemic make it harder than ever to love one another, but God’s Word is VERY clear:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Those three things aren’t complicated, but they can be oh-so hard to do. Here are a few practical tips to let LOVE fuel your GRIEF and ANGER into zealous action that bears eternal fruit:

1. Pray before you post – wait 24 hours while the Holy Spirit sifts your emotions with HIS wisdom before posting potentially inflammatory material on social media.
2. Let your life speak louder than your words – let people SEE your beliefs and convictions, waiting until they’re curious enough to ask why you’re different (peaceful, happy, wise, etc.) before flooding them with answers.
3. Someone or some situation that especially grieves or angers you? Ask the Lord to give you a supernatural love for that person, place, or thing to fuel your fervent prayers for them/it.

Today’s Question:

• Is there a circumstance you’re facing that vacillates between grief and anger? How can love actively fuel your fervor for prayer in that situation?

Tweet-ables:

• Grief and anger are necessary ingredients for mountain-moving prayer . . . but only when fueled by love.
• Find a few practical tips to let LOVE fuel your GRIEF and ANGER into zealous action that bears eternal fruit.