Have you ever asked yourself exactly why you get angry at God? The reason is obvious: God isn’t doing things the way you want Him to. It may be something big or something relatively minor — but your reaction is the same: You don’t like what God is doing (or not doing).

But what we really are saying when we get angry at God is that we know better than He does what ought to be happening. I think, for example, of Jonah in the Old Testament. God told him to go to his nation’s enemies and preach God’s Word to them so they’d repent — but Jonah refused. Eventually he did go — after God delivered him from the great fish that swallowed him — and he preached the message God gave him.

But when those enemies repented and were delivered from God’s judgment because of his preaching, Jonah became angry at God. He hated those people and didn’t want them to repent and be saved; instead, he wanted God to destroy them. The Bible says, “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry…. But the Lord replied, ‘Have you any right to be angry?'” (Jonah 4:1,4). God rebuked him for his anger, because Jonah wanted his will to be done instead of God’s.

God loves us, and His way is always best — whether we understand it or not. Make Christ the center of your life, and then ask God to help you trust Him in every situation and believe His way is best. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).