Seriously, is it right for you to be angry?

Weekly Nuggets May 8, 2023

Jonah 3:10 – Jonah 4:4 NKJV

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Key Phrase:  Seriously, is it right for you to be angry?

There are several occasions in life that we find a ‘tree’ to sit under and sulk. Things haven’t gone our way and so we vex, grumble and complain. We forget all the good that God has done and anchor on one thing, self.

The children of Isreal got taken out of bondage but they vexed and sulked because they didn’t have water. They forgot the overall strategy of God and were ready to throw it all away for an inconvenience. This was Jonah, or perhaps this is us today.

The Bible tells us that Jonah was annoyed at God. All the trouble, thrown off a ship , swallowed by a fish, all for nothing? But if we did some deep questioning over the real cause of this anger,  it was because God’s strategy to save 120,000 people was seen as an inconvenience to Jonah. Is it right for Jonah to be angry?

When next we find ourselves vexing, or sulking over what we say God hasn’t done, we must search deep and ask ourselves what exactly is God’s agenda. When we understand the bigger picture, the greater good, then we will understand that He will sometime take us through a season of inconvenience to achieve His master plan.

Father, for every time we have been angry with you, forgive us. Lord, help us to see beyond self, but to see where you are going. Most of all Lord, speak to us through every situation that has driven us to sulk or be angry at you, speak words of encouragement, speak words of healing, speak words of restoration. In Jesus name. Amen

Weekly nuggets is a ministry blog by Elozino