"Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!" -Jonah 4:9
When Jonah was running away from God's calling in his life God prepared a great fish to bring him back to the place he needed to be. (Nineveh) God also prepared a plant to comfort him from the sun by giving him shade. But later God prepared a worm that ate away at Jonah's comfort, and then a scorching wind to afflict Jonah.
You see every time Jonah had moved away from the Lord physically or emotionally God "prepared" something to bring him back to that place of obedience and alignment with God's will. In chapter four, Jonah was angry because God relented His wrath upon the Ninevites since they had repented of their sins. God had forgiven Ninevah but Jonah had not. God loved Jonah too much to leave him the way he was with unforgiveness in his heart. So God decided to teach Jonah a lesson on grace; on undeserved comfort and deserving discomfort.
Remember when God wants to get you somewhere physically or emotionally He will give and He will take away, in order to get your flesh to rise to the surface. Because it is at the surface and in confession that God can deal with it.
You see every time Jonah had moved away from the Lord physically or emotionally God "prepared" something to bring him back to that place of obedience and alignment with God's will. In chapter four, Jonah was angry because God relented His wrath upon the Ninevites since they had repented of their sins. God had forgiven Ninevah but Jonah had not. God loved Jonah too much to leave him the way he was with unforgiveness in his heart. So God decided to teach Jonah a lesson on grace; on undeserved comfort and deserving discomfort.
Remember when God wants to get you somewhere physically or emotionally He will give and He will take away, in order to get your flesh to rise to the surface. Because it is at the surface and in confession that God can deal with it.
- WHAT AFFLICTION OR DISCOMFORT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW? COULD IT BE THAT THIS THING IS SOMETHIN ESPECIALLY "PREPARED" FOR YOU TO GET YOU SOMEWHERE SPIRITUALLY OR PHYSICALLY?
- "If God never gave us more than we could handle then we'd never have a reason to go to Him for strength" -unknown