Bitterness

 

Jonah and His Heart of Bitterness

Jonah wasn't just stubborn, he was angry that God wanted to send him to warn the Ninevites, a godless people, to repent. Jonah was so focused on his anger that he ran from God because of it. He thought he knew better than God did. He wanted justice without mercy for them, forgetting how he had been spared by that same mercy from Almighty God.

His anger consumed him for wanting punishment for others, just as so many of us allow anger to eat at us and consume us. 

We often fall into the same mindset Jonah had, which was filled with bitterness toward people, unforgiveness, anger, and a desire for revenge. We often struggle to forgive others, yet then we bow our heads in prayer asking for forgiveness for ourselves. That's hypocrisy.

Then we’re disciplined for it, and we complain about the discipline, thinking it's unfair!

Are we not acting like the Israelites did in the wilderness? When we read about them, we’re shocked and surprised by how many times they rebelled against God. We may think, were they that blind? Did they not remember what God had done for them? No, instead, they gathered up the blessings, yet still complained and did not trust God to sustain them. And here we are, over 3,000 years later, doing the same things. We doubt. We rebel. We forget.

If things are going rough in your life, it could be a test, it could be discipline, or it could be the natural consequences of your actions. We need to ask God to search us and convict us of anything that is not of Him and repent. People often forget that God does discipline us for our rebellion. We need to stop focusing on ourselves and put God first in our lives. We know these things, but we conveniently forget them. We allow the world to help us forget.