The story of Jonah and the whale is a favorite Sunday School story. Jonah receives directions from God, Jonah runs from God, God has Jonah swallowed by whale, Jonah is in the whale for three days, Jonah prays to God, and Jonah finally goes to Nineveh to delivery God's message to the people there.
What I found interesting was the story after the story of how the people of Nineveh turned from their evil ways and toward God. In Jonah 4:1-11 it tells of Jonah's reaction to God's decision to not destroy Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). Basically Jonah pouted, and gets angry with God because God showed compassion and mercy toward the people of Nineveh. Jonah then sits and waits to see what will happen to the city, and the Lord has a plant grow to shade Jonah. Eventually the Lord has the plant die. The Lord asks Jonah if it is right for him to be angry about the plant dying, in Jonah's anger he believes he does. And the Lord responds with (I think this is great), "...'You feel sorry for the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?'"
How often do we get angry and upset with God for his decisions? I know that I can be that pouting whining child when life doesn't happen the way I think it should go. I think that this story of Jonah is reflective of much of our experiences in not wanting to accept God's plan or a change in what we thought was the plan. This story reminded me of how I often get upset at small things without understanding or considering that there is a bigger picture at work. I pray that I may accept and humbling walk in the path the Lord has laid out for me. I'm afraid of whales.
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