Daily Encouragement: Lesson Learned?

God's object lesson for Jonah....

Yesterday, we read how Jonah had asked God to go ahead and kill him because nothing he had predicted had actually happened. So today we are going to look at God's response as the conclusion of our look at the book of Jonah.

"The Lord replied, 'Is it right for you to be angry about this?'

Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see if anything would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased some of his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

But God also prepared a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it soon died and withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God sent a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. 'Death is certainly better than this!' he exclaimed.

Then God said to Jonah, 'Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?'

'Yes,' Jonah retorted, 'even angry enough to die!'

Then the Lord said, 'You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. And a plant is only, at best, short lived. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?'" (Jonah 4:4-11)

We don't see if Jonah had a change of heart with this, but we do see a glimpse of the heart of God for people "living in spiritual darkness." He uses the plant and the worm and the weather to help put things in perspective for Jonah, and he doesn't accuse Jonah outright but was gentle in His question to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

I distinctly remember one of God's object lessons in my life which I recently shared at a women's retreat. I had been angry, disappointed and bitter toward God because of a third miscarriage--we had prayed and prayed for this little one and I was pretty sure I had heard from God that he or she would be healthy and go to full term, but at 10 weeks it was no more. It wasn't until weeks later when the nurse at my ob/gyn pointed out God's hand in my life--the cancer in my body was discovered early enough that it had not spread. Through that whole traumatic experience, God was saving my life! That was when I realized it was NOT right for me to be angry with God. I was immediately overwhelmed with gratefulness and sorrow for my wrong attitude.

What about you? Have you ever experienced one of God's object lessons? Are you in the midst of one even now? I encourage you today to again step back and try to see your present circumstances within the big picture--from God's perspective--and consider if a change in attitude is required.

I am proud of you, sister, for seeking to hear from God, for pursuing Him. No matter where you've been or what you've done, God's heart is for you to draw close to Him and see that He has your best interest at heart. Remember, "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28)

by Wendie Beddingfield

picture by Robert Proksa