S) "4 The LORD said, 'Do you have good reason to be angry?'"
Jonah 4:4 (NASB)
O) The LORD is omniscient, so anytime He's asking a question, you can bet it's rhetorical and designed to get us to think about the answer, before we actually answer. To me, this one question is the whole point of the book of Jonah. It really hinges on the word, "good" that the LORD is using. He's essentially asking if Jonah has any right to be angry.
I used to think Jonah was simply throwing a fit because the LORD was forcing him on a journey that, in his own eyes, didn't need his participation. Kind of a lazy, almost existential attitude of, "What's the point of me going, God?" But, over the years, I came to realize that Jonah suffered from, what I like to call, "The Jonah Complex" I don't think Jonah was angry about being forced to go on this journey. I think he was angry because he didn't want the people of Ninevah to receive mercy from the LORD. He couldn't bear this idea that the LORD would show lovingkindness to some one else (non-Hebrew, that is). He mistakingly thought that he had exclusivity with the LORD.
A) This Jonah Complex still exists today. I see it among Christians a lot. I see it with kids who are serving God without their parents, and then when their parents do get saved and start serving God, they feel like they don't want to share Him. I see it with divorced couples who are bitter when their ex finally submits to God after years of denying His sovereignty. I've seen it with the families of a victim, when the guilty person repents and finds mercy and redemption in Jesus. There are myriad reasons why this Jonah Complex might develop in a person, but ultimately, the Bible warns about being angry. It says in Ephesians 4:26, that we are to be careful when we are angry and I think the best way to do this is to ask myself this question God posed to Jonah, "Do I have a good reason to be angry?" Most of the time, I think the answer to that question is a reluctant, "... no..."
P) Father, You have healed my heart of many hinderences. You gave me freedom from anger over so many issues. You've healed me of a bitter, hard, dying heart. Continue to call all of my emotions, not just my anger, into question. Holy Spirit, test my emotions often to determine if my heart is pure in them. Help me be honest with You and honest with myself, so that I find peace once again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
I used to think Jonah was simply throwing a fit because the LORD was forcing him on a journey that, in his own eyes, didn't need his participation. Kind of a lazy, almost existential attitude of, "What's the point of me going, God?" But, over the years, I came to realize that Jonah suffered from, what I like to call, "The Jonah Complex" I don't think Jonah was angry about being forced to go on this journey. I think he was angry because he didn't want the people of Ninevah to receive mercy from the LORD. He couldn't bear this idea that the LORD would show lovingkindness to some one else (non-Hebrew, that is). He mistakingly thought that he had exclusivity with the LORD.
A) This Jonah Complex still exists today. I see it among Christians a lot. I see it with kids who are serving God without their parents, and then when their parents do get saved and start serving God, they feel like they don't want to share Him. I see it with divorced couples who are bitter when their ex finally submits to God after years of denying His sovereignty. I've seen it with the families of a victim, when the guilty person repents and finds mercy and redemption in Jesus. There are myriad reasons why this Jonah Complex might develop in a person, but ultimately, the Bible warns about being angry. It says in Ephesians 4:26, that we are to be careful when we are angry and I think the best way to do this is to ask myself this question God posed to Jonah, "Do I have a good reason to be angry?" Most of the time, I think the answer to that question is a reluctant, "... no..."
P) Father, You have healed my heart of many hinderences. You gave me freedom from anger over so many issues. You've healed me of a bitter, hard, dying heart. Continue to call all of my emotions, not just my anger, into question. Holy Spirit, test my emotions often to determine if my heart is pure in them. Help me be honest with You and honest with myself, so that I find peace once again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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