Quiet Time in Jonah 4

EXPAND TO READ: JONAH 4 (HCSB)

Jonah’s Anger

1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. 2 He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. 3 And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

5 Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. 7 When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.

8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down so much on Jonah’s head that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”

9 Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes,” he replied. “It is right. I’m angry enough to die!”

10 So the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. 11 Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

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PERSONAL JOURNAL:

SIN (verses 10-11): Father, these two verses speak so loudly to me today. I often get so angry at such small things that I neglect to care for the big picture in the moment. Please forgive me for my narrow sightedness. Forgive me for often dwelling on the small things in this life, typically defaulting to anger over them. Forgive me for not showing compassion, mercy, and being slow to anger through all things, just as You have shown us here, Father. Help me to remember that You are always in control and that the anger I often default to even for the slightest of things is NOT in any way how I should act according to Your will for my life.

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PROMISE (verse 2): Your promise here is more so about Your identity and default nature than anything. You promise us that You are merciful, compassionate, rich in faithful love, slow to anger, and one who is slow to sending disaster on Your people. Thank You for always showing us the way we’re to be acting, Father. If I can only mimic these characteristics of You, then I would be far better at living out Your will for my life.

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ATTITUDE (verses 2, 4, 9): This one is quite simple for me as it’s been a struggle of mine throughout my entire life. Help me to be better at the “slow to anger” characteristic, Father. Help me to be better at knowing when righteous anger is justified and letting all other situations not stir up my anger. Help me to rid myself of this horrible default of anger I’ve been living in for pretty much my entire life, Father, so that I may be slow to anger just like You.

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COMMAND (verses 4, 9): You repeat Yourself with pretty much the same question to Jonah twice. Both questions ask him if it is right for him to be angry in those moments. You are attempting to help him realize his selfish mistake on his own, but he is obviously stubborn just like me, Father. Help me to be less like Jonah in relation to my default of anger, Father. Help me to follow this command of Yours so that I question myself in those moments that I want to go to my anger. Help me to realize that You do not sanction the anger I often default to in all moments, especially since most of the time it’s a selfish anger and very rarely a righteous anger.

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EXAMPLE (verses 10-11): The example You provide here is so powerful to me, personally. You give Jonah a plant for a day to prove a point. Then You have that plant wither away the very next day. Jonah becomes so angry over the plants demise, yet You use it as an example of why You showed grace and mercy to Nineveh. You used that experience as an example to Jonah of why anger should only be used in rare circumstances. The town had thousands of people and years of history to it. Even though they made mistakes often, You did not feel that it was worthy of unrelenting anger in the moment. Just as the plant for Jonah should not have been an experience for his unrelenting anger as it did provide him enormous comfort at least for a day, the town of Nineveh provided the same for many years and generations. Help me to be better at following this example in my life, Father. Help me to be better at learning from my mistakes and becoming slower to anger. I know it will be a tough road for me to navigate, but I know with You guiding me that all things are possible.

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*DAILY NOTE: Why do I struggle so much with my anger, Father? Was it my upbringing and all of the anger that surrounded me there? Was it the military and the lifestyle changes that brings into one’s life? Was it unresolved issues in my emotional state across my life that I need to deal with through You? Is it a combination of all of these? That last one is most likely the case. I know I’ve gotten better as of late since joining the Real Men 300 and getting serious about my faith, but I also know I have a LOT more work to do when it comes to my anger. Help me be better at this, Father, but also please help me to identify the “why” in the moment easier and quicker so that I can learn from those experiences and lean on You for help.

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EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES

I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.