4 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 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 his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for 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 living like this!” he exclaimed.
9 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!”
10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 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
Dear God, first, I want to apologize. When I was looking at the Assyrians in Nineveh and them being an enemy of Israel, I was suspecting you of having ulterior motives for sending Jonah to warn them of their destruction. Maybe you needed them to repent so they would be there for Israel and help her. I was trying to look at the big picture. But here it is in verse 4:11b: Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” Answer: Yes, you should. And that should be enough for your mercy.
Is it ever the right thing to be angry about mercy? I can’t think of a time in the New Testament when looking down on mercy was the right thing to do. In the story of the Prodigal Son/Father, the older brother was angry about the mercy. He was wrong. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, a lot of people were angry at Jesus’s mercy, and they were wrong. When Jesus forbade James and John from calling down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritan city because he had mercy on them and respected their decision to refuse him passage, they were wrong.
Rich Mullins had a song he wrote for his friend’s new son called “Let Mercy Lead.” The chorus:
Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in ever footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I'll be you in that place
Where mercy leads
Father, I’m still haunted a bit by a question a person asked me the other night. He’s one of these people who is always saying he’s doing fabulous or terrific. We were getting out of our cars at the same time, and he asked me, “How are you doing,” and I did my normal thing of saying I’m doing “alright” with a little pensiveness in my voice. He asked what could change so that I’d be doing great. It was a good question, I suppose. I’ve thought about it since then. Why do I respond the way that I do? Why don’t I go the “Terrific!” route or the “Just fine” route? I guess it’s because I want to be authentic, and there are laments in my life. I walk with a limp, and I don’t want to hide my limp. I don’t invite everyone into my laments. I don’t broadcast them. But if a fellow sojourner wants to know what my laments are I’ll tell them. And usually when I do it helps them. What does this have to do with mercy? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because some of my laments involve me figuring out how to give mercy when it’s not requested or deserved. Some of it is me doing things I don’t want to do but you’re calling me to do, like Jonah (see yesterday’s prayer). Some of it is that I need some mercy extended to me that is not coming in the foreseeable future. So help me to be authentic, but also help me to not try to use the answer to the “How are you?” question as an opportunity to get others to feel sorry for me. That’s certainly not what I want. I am loved by you, and I am not a man to be pitied, no matter what my circumstances are.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 