Daily Devotions

Jonah 4:1-9
4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Did Jonah really have any reason to be angry? (Verse 9) He thought he did. The prophet had pledged to serve the Lord yet he was angry with the way that God used him. Even though he put himself into the hands of God Jonah still wanted to chose where he would serve and to whom. It may be in our walk and service for the Lord that God would allow us to chose those things. But it may also be that God will decide those things for us. When we cannot understand the circumstances of life or the leading of the Lord it would do us well not to get angry, just follow. God used Jonah to do a great work yet he never enjoyed it nor was he rewarded for it. All because Jonah was angry without a cause.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 10:47 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.