We sought the help of Father André LaSana LC to help those who are going through life’s challenges.
Q: Dear Father,
Is it a sin to get angry with God? I’m going through a rough time, and I feel like I’m losing my trust in Him. Why isn’t He answering my prayers?
—John, 29
A: Hi John,
It’s okay to be angry with God. His ways are often beyond our understanding, so we struggle to make sense of how God can love us, and yet allow us to suffer.
If we take a quick look at Scripture, it reveals truths about God and man and you will see how people also experience a full range of emotions in their dealings with God. For example, after Job and his wife lost their children, she advised Job to “Curse God and die.†(Job 2: 9)
This was an extreme response, and even though Job chose to do the opposite and walked in faith, it’s helpful to keep in mind that emotions aren’t sins during life’s difficult moments. Emotions are actually a natural response to what happens to us—and God wants us to be natural with him. Prayer is precisely the place to bare heart and soul to God, to present our real self to him: sadness, anger, whatever we feel.
As for the second part of your question: Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? This is probably a universal question that lodges deep in the heart of every believer at various times in life, so it is a serious one, with a mysterious answer.
Let’s turn to the scriptures once again and see how St. Paul assures us that “all things work to the good for those who love God†(Rm 8: 28). The challenge here is to trust and to wait for Him to turn things around. When your are suffering, I understand that God’s timing doesn’t seem reasonable. But think back to Job, who not only lost all his herds and wealth in one day, but also all of his children. Think of Jesus Christ, who nailed to the cross, moaned, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?†(Ps 22: 2).
In times of crisis, when our trust in God wanes or even crashes, a good solution is to act—to reach out to someone who can help, perhaps just by listening. You may be in a tough place, but you are not alone.
In times of crisis, when our trust in God wanes or even crashes, a good solution is to act—to reach out to someone who can help, perhaps just by listening. You may be in a tough place, but you are not alone. Try talking to a trusted friend or reach out to a priest, or a faith-based counselor, and of course, to continue to speak to God honestly. With God, every cross is backlit by Jesus’ triumphant Resurrection! Remember that God allows us to suffer, to struggle, because somehow he wants us to grow, to develop in love and trust.