He Became Angry
But to
Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord,
when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate
God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending
calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to
live.”
But
the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah
had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a
shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.
Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah
to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy
about the plant. But
at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it
withered. When
the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s
head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for
me to die than to live.”
But
God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And
I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But
the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though
you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.
And should I not have concern for
the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty
thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many
animals?”
Jonah
4:1-11
Do we have the right
to be mad at God? Jonah thought so. The reality is that God makes things grow,
and wither without us having anything to do with the process of life and death.
We are to love our
Lord, worship Him, and witness for Him.
The next
time the Holy Spirit convicts you and asks you about your bad attitude, listen
carefully. Surrender and let Him change you from the inside out.
Our Daily Bread –