The Sovereignty of God

By Jasmine Britto, Kerala, India

Part 13

Jonah 4:5-9
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” ”It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

In this Scripture, God is ministering to Jonah tenderly as He is to the Ninevites and Israelites and even to us. God could have destroyed Jonah for his anger, but instead
He gently taught him a lesson.

In verse 6, the Lord God provided a plant, and it grew to give a shade for Jonah. Jonah was exceedingly happy about it because it brought relief from his discomfort.

Jonah was displeased over the salvation of the Ninevites, but he was so pleased over his own comfort. Jonah’s happiness and his anger had worldly reasons. It was all about self, nothing about God and His will. He was displeased that the Ninevites were being saved because he wanted them to experience judgment. He was exceedingly happy about the plant, because he was no longer in discomfort.

In verse 7, God now provided a worm to attack the plant so, now the protection from the sun is removed. Then God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head. God increases the discomfort by bringing the heat on Jonah.

The Bible says God provided the worm and provided the wind – sometimes God provides those uncomfortable situations in our lives, as a means of repentance.  Actually, they are coming from God’s care for us because He wants to see repentance brought about in our hearts. As Jonah was going through these uncomfortable circumstances, he became very angry and he wished to die again.

But then God says to him “Do you have a right to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes, I do” Jonah says.

Here we see that Jonah has more care for his own comfort than the state of his soul or of his heart. We might feel how crazy Jonah was to feel like this, but how often are we the same? How easy it is to be sensitive to our own needs than to the needs of people around us!

Prayer Focus

Today let’s pray that we see the spiritual needs of our soul and that of those around us as well.