Why wouldn't God agree with him?

 In Jonah's opinion...

 After Jonah ran from God, he couldn’t escape because God deposited him in a large fish’s stomach, deep in the ocean. A prophet in a dark place, he knew God was his last resort, and he prayed, realizing his survival required trusting Someone he’d abandoned.

 Wow! That was quite drastic, but Jonah was so antagonist, he needed a mighty shakeup before God would grab his undivided attention.

  Although God could have let Jonah die, God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. Smelly, dishevelled and pocked marked from the fish’s stomach juices, God commissioned Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh, a great and evil city where crime and violence ran rampant. Undesirable and ugly, Jonah became a conspicuous prophet. He delivered a simple but ominous warning.

On the first day Jonah entered Nineveh, he proclaimed this message:

“Forty days and Nineveh will be overturned.”

 The message reached the king of Nineveh's ears, and he exchanged his royal robes for sackcloth, urging everyone to mourn with him for their city.

 “Listen, my people! Let everyone call immediately on God, and perhaps he will be compassionate to us!”

 When God saw they repented, he did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

 Modern day evangelists hold massive revival meetings in stadiums with elaborate equipment and entertaining music. The converts are counselled, and evangelists rejoice over the power of the messages they have delivered because God has brought many into his kingdom. Jonah spoke six simple words, and an entire city turned to God, rejecting their devious schemes for upright, worshipful choices. The Ninevites heard God’s voice. Did Jonah also rejoice and praise God when his campaign was a massive success! Was he pleased that God had spoken through him?

 Jonah was furious. 

Before he had headed for Tarshish, he knew God was gracious and would forgive those wicked Ninevites. They deserved the full force of God’s destruction, and Jonah didn’t want to live long enough to see them flourish.

 But was Jonah’s anger appropriate?

 He left the city and built a shelter, sat in it, waiting to see if God had considered his opinion. God provided a leafy plant to shade him from the sun, and the virtuous prophet appreciated God’s kindness. Perhaps he thought he deserved it after the trauma in the fish and his evangelical campaign. Yet the next morning a worm feasted on the vine, and it withered as a scorching east wind buffeted Jonah and the sun blazed down on him. 

More than ever, he wanted to die.

 Jonah’s fainting spell was real, and his suffering was awful. Yet, close to where he languished, God had rescued over one hundred and twenty thousand people from destruction. Was Jonah’s suffering of greater significance than an entire city? Did God’s or Jonah’s priorities matter most?

 Can we identify with Jonah? 

When did you last consider if God has any right over you? He was so compassionate that he sent Jesus to rescue us from sin and eternal destruction. We owe him a debt we can never repay. You may have lived a respectable life as Jonah did, but God demands perfection before we may enter his presence. Where will your spirit go after you have departed your body? If you place your trust in God’s love for you, accepting Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient to pay for your faults and misconduct, he considers you perfect in his eyes. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

 As a Christian who has known and loved Jesus since childhood, Jonah’s reluctance reminds me I need to submit to God’s superior will. My agenda, although difficult or stressful, is insignificant compared to God’s wider purpose and I'll do well when I accept it.

Let’s recall Jeremiah 29:11.

 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If life is awful or unbearable, we can find hope to endure if we view our circumstances from God's perspective. He is preparing us for better things to come, both in this life or for all eternity.

Blessings to you, wherever you are. Let’s run to our loving Heavenly Father, appreciating him, and run our lives under his guidance because he knows what is best for us.