Jonah 3:10, 4:1, 5-8

3:10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened

1This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it. 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

If I were to tell you that people have disappointed me at times throughout my life you wouldn’t be surprised. As a matter of fact, you probably can recall times of disappointment in people. It’s simply not uncommon in this life for people to fail to meet our expectations. Sometimes people disappoint us unintentionally, while at other times our disappointment is the result of a person’s character flaw. Either way we have all been there, we have all experienced disappointment.  But what if I were to tell you that God has, at least on occasion, disappointed me? Would you think I was mad, that I’d lost my mind, that I was a bad person for even suggesting such a thing? I’m not saying that one is justified in being disappointed with God, but I believe that if we are honest, most of us would have to admit that there have been times when God didn’t respond like we expected Him to and we were disappointed.

Jonah was God’s reluctant and rebellious prophet, even when he finally agreed to deliver God’s message of judgment to Nineveh, he was terribly disappointed with God’s handling of the Ninevites.  If we are willing to look closely enough, we may find shades of our own attitudes in this account of Jonah. So what led to Jonah’s disappointment with God?

• Jonah was committed to his will not God’s

The fact is Jonah wasn’t unconditionally committed to God’s will. He had his own ideas about how God should handle the Ninevites. When it didn’t turn out that way, when he didn’t get his way it made him mad.

•             Jonah Was Displeased. Jonah 4: 1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.”

God had just spared the lives of over 120,000 people, and Jonah was exceedingly angry about it, most preachers would be overjoyed to see such an overwhelming response to their message, but not Jonah.

• Jonah had a heart issue, he had a bad attitude

There are times in our lives when we too need an ‘attitude adjustment’. Jonah appoints himself as theological advisor to the Almighty, and makes it clear that he is out of sympathy with divine policy. He engages in a sit-down strike outside the city limits, separating himself from the people and God. Talk about an attitude, so how does God give us an “attitude adjustment”?

1. He asks us challenging questions. (v.4)  “Have you any right to be angry.”

God is challenging Jonah’s perceptions.  Atitude change begins with asking, Do I have a good reason to feel this way? Should I be thinking like this? Should I be acting like this?” Many times if we are truly honest and let our emotions step aside for the sake of truth we’ll find that we shouldn’t have the attitude that we do.

2. He gives us challenging experiences. (v.6-8)

God delivers a practical object lesson consisting of a plant, a worm, and a wind. He uses circumstances to expose Jonah’s sinful rebellion, his misguided heart attitude, and his warped value system. So God causes a vine to grow to provide Jonah with some needed shade (vs 6). Jonah’s reaction “Jonah was very grateful” This is the first time Jonah is happy! He wasn’t happy when God commissioned him to preach to Ninevah; he wasn’t pleased when the sailors were converted in ch 1; and he was far from thrilled when a pagan city turned to God. Jonah is selfishly pleased that God is finally doing something for him, his joy is in his own comfort, not that of others. Destruction finally comes, but not upon Ninevah, a hungry worm arrives and eats the plant, which had become very important to Jonah. Now we might say, wasn’t Jonah’s bad attitude caused by the experience? I don’t think so; God saw what was inside Jonah and knew what Jonah’s attitude was. God simply put Jonah into a place where he was exposed and the attitude became exposed as well. Isaiah 16:7 ”Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Like Jonah there are times when we need an attitude adjustment and God allows us to go through an experience that exposed our attitude so it can be dealt with. We say that people or situations make us angry yet the anger is in us and the situation just brings to the surface what was lurking underneath. We are like the skunk that gets stepped on, the bad smell comes from inside us, we want to blame the circumstances but the circumstances just exposed what was inside us!

The ending may seem abrupt and unresolved, and we might like to know how Jonah responded, but it’s not important to know what he said or did. Jonah’s missing final answer isn’t an oversight or the result of our lacking the last page of the manuscript. Jonah’s not the main character here, God is. We’re left with an intentional, powerful statement concerning God’s grace. Rather than show us Jonah’s response, God invites us to respond. Will we show compassion, or will we run from our responsibility? As Christians, we’re compelled to care. God didn’t hang up on Jonah. Do we hang up on God when He doesn’t meet our expectations? Jonah cared more about personal comfort than an entire city! He was bothered by the hot rays of the desert sun, but could care less about the burning fire of hell that would fall on a city. What makes you happy? For Jonah it was a plant. What gives you great joy? When you answer that, you will discover where your heart really is. God cares about people. Is it time to get alone with God and get a heart adjustment?

Jonah 1:17; 2:1-2

17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. 1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead and Lord, you heard me!

As people we long to be free, but what is freedom? Is it doing what we want, is it being the captain of our own destiny? The most terrifying aspect of Jonah’s plight is when he realizes that God almost gave him what he wanted–to be free from God. Jonah wanted to run from God, now the reality of that choice brings Jonah to repentance. He rejected God, but God didn’t reject him! Which direction are you heading in today, are you running from or to God?  Jonah returned to God, not as someone expecting special privileges, but as a rebel in need of forgiveness. In the depths of the sea he discarded his pride. The highest moment of our life is the moment when we turn to God, confessing our sins.

Our disobedience always leads us away from God onto a road of destruction. Verse 2 states that Jonah found himself in “the land of the dead” heading toward death. Death is the destination on the road of disobedience and Jonah admits that he is as good as dead, but God reached out and rescued him! God’s intention is to return Jonah back to a right relationship. So many of us have a wrong view of our heavenly Father, we think He is just waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us. Yet what we see in the life of Jonah is a God who is there to save Jonah from his disobedience. How do you respond to God’s correction? A father who loves his children doesn’t turn his back when they go astray.

Verse 1 describes the place of Jonah’s time Alone with God, in the belly of the fish. It’s an interesting place to be alone with God, not what one would choose, yet Jonah had a very secluded spot. Away from the distractions, God now had Jonah’s undivided attention.  Do you have a secluded spot where God has your attention?  So many times we want God to pay attention to us, only to ignore Him. Is your time alone with God one way is it about Him paying attention to you or are you paying attention also?

Jonah knew his situation was his fault, yet when he “called to the Lord” (vs 1), God responded. Sometimes our trials are the result of our disobedience and unlike Jonah we don’t want to admit fault, it’s easier to blame others, even God, so we don’t call out to Him.  As we go through the trials in our lives we may feel swallowed up by our circumstance, but we must remember the one who has power over our circumstances. We wonder, why am I still going through this? Why am I still in the fish? But like Jonah, we often need time to contemplate the lessons God is teaching us. Though things couldn’t seem worse, Jonah exercises hope in verse 4: “…yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.” Faith dares to approach God, even knowing that we’re sinful people undeserving of mercy, yet Faith drives us to look again. No matter your circumstances there is always hope, we can always come and get alone with God.  Are you willing to dare to hope as Jonah did are you willing to look again no matter how impossible it seems.

Jonah ends his prayer in verse 9 with these words, “For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” The theme of the entire Bible, Salvation is a gift. A gift that is possible only because God makes it possible God chooses to reach out to people who aren’t reaching back, He accepts and entitles the undeserving. God’s love is not based on our actions but upon His, it’s not because of what we have done, but because of what He has done.

Do you feel stuck in the fish right now? What are you going to do with your time in the fish?  Are you going to focus on God or on the fish (your circumstances)? Are you going to learn what God is teaching you or just spent your time trying to get out?  Jonah uses his time to pray from his heart, it’s an honest prayer where he gets real with God. Often ours are not, we overlook the real issues that we need to be discussing, or we ignore some sin we need to confess, or we ask for things to which He has already clearly said no. Are you ready to get alone with God and get real?