Bible Verse of the Day Friday March 5th 2021

Jonah 4:1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.

When Jonah was called by God to go and preach to the people of Nineveh, he at first ran away from the calling. We have all heard the story of when God brought him back to the realization that when God directs us to a specific mission, and we refuse, there could be some repercussion. Jonah did not want God to save the city that had been so cruel towards Israel; he wanted God to judge them according to what he thought should happen to Nineveh. This misjudgment on Jonah's part is a scenario that happens every day human beings are on this earth. frequently we have heard someone say, "I hope God judges this or that person according to what they have done." It is not up to us to intercede in God's plans, only to be open to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit to follow God's will for our lives.

When Jonah's plan to make sure that salvation did not come to the Ninevites, he became angry with God. Someone may have said to Jonah, "that was a great sermon you preached in Nineveh, only eight words, and the entire city turned to God. You should be very pleased." However, Jonah was not pleased; on the contrary, he became angry towards God. There are some out there even today that believe that they can govern the world better than God. It is a hopeless and ineffectual venture to become angry with God. We might get away with a fit of temporary anger towards our husbands or wives. Still, our anger towards God will interfere with our relationship with our Lord and Savior, with possible severe consequences.

Some do not believe that God should show any forgiveness to people that we perceive as extremely evil. This false premise is an egotistical and self-seeking view of the mercy of God, and it is us attempting to usurp God's grace. Those that cannot accept God's perspective try to impose their own opinion and notion on God. We should never judge who God should forgive; many people have a stronger feeling towards judgment than about forgiveness and grace. We have all experienced bias towards others at times in our life primarily when something they did affects our lives or the lives of a loved one.

God's forgiveness reaches all people even if we are not ready to extend forgiveness to others. We all possess a little bit of Jonah's attitude, even if we don't want to admit it. The good news is, just as God has forgiven that person of whatever we do not want to forgive them for, He stands ready to forgive us as well.  

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