It is often in moments of anger that we allow ourselves to freely express our true thoughts and feelings--often, however, to our own demise or shame. For the prophet Jonah, his pronouncement out of anger painted an insightful portrait into the character and nature of God:
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. Jonah 4: 1-3.
Jonah, a well known prophet and man of the Lord, knew the true heart of the Lord--gracious, merciful, abundant in lovingkindness. Because of this, he refused (at first) to minister unto the Ninevites because he knew that God would show mercy unto them--a nation Jonah did not want mercy shown unto. The Lord in fact did show mercy unto the Ninevites, which angered Jonah.
It took a moment of anger for Jonah to finally confess why he did not want to go to Nineveh. The Lord, of course, knew all along. Even though it provided us, the readers, with insight into the character and nature of God, I hope that we will not wait until moments of anger or frustration before we come to grips with our true thoughts and intentions.
Soli Deo Gloria.
1 comment:
Excellent but convicting point. Ouch! Emphasizes the importance of confession and repentance in our daily walk. Unless of course we don't sin.
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