God asked Jonah if Jonah had reason to be angry. Jonah: “i have good reason to be angry, even to death” (Jonah 4:9).
Whoa!
Last week, Pressing on Together was about me-centered versus God-centered points of view (See Point of View).
Jonah is a great example of me-centeredness.
You know what happened. God told Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, but Jonah fled. God intervened (!), Jonah repented from the belly of the fish, and then Jonah did what God commanded. But Jonah was furious that God saved Jonah’s enemies, the hated gentile Ninevites.
God asked Jonah if Jonah had reason to be angry and Jonah was still furious. “Mad enough to die.”
Well…we know that Jonah was a sign of Jesus’ death and resurrection. (Matthew 12:39-41).
But we don’t know if Jonah ever repented of his anger that God saved the Ninevites.
The question for us: when we are very angry (about whatever), are we able to get out of our me-centeredness, hear God’s point of view, and repent?
It is so easy to let our emotions run ahead of our minds, and stay there. And it can be difficult to stop, take stock, hear our Lord, confess, and walk according to the Spirit and now the flesh.
I am so grateful that God is working in us not only to want to do His will but also to actually do His will (Philippians 2:13).
Father, please help me, help us, listen to You when I, when we, are “mad enough to die.”
~~~
P.S. Here is more encouragement. After Jonah’s initial rebellion, God still used him! (See Encouragement)
