Compassion or Anger and Sulking?
And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah 4:4 (ESV)
Do we overlook God’s compassion and sovereignty when the effects of mental illness bump into our plans, or when our plans are cast aside because of someone else’s needs or actions?
The story of Jonah is well known. He ignores and runs from God’s call, which lands him in a dark lonely place. Only then does he cry out to God and promise to do what God is asking of him. “But I’m calling out in thanksgiving! And I’ll do what I promised I’d do! Salvation belongs to God!” Jonah 2:9 (ESV) He does what God asks but he continues to be angry and sulks. God’s compassion was shown to the people of Nineveh because they turned from their evil ways and Jonah played part of the good that came from Nineveh.
When the circumstances of caring for a loved one are hard to handle, do we find ourselves sulking? When our loved one doesn't make good choices, when they are not well, is it easy to become angry. Neither response helps as we only consider our perspective, like Jonah. Regrettably, I recall times when I acted like Jonah. Times when, like Jonah, I was overly focused on myself and followed my emotion of anger, which led to sulking or self-pity. A better response: completely trust God in our unwelcomed circumstances and trust His loving attributes are at work. This is when we take part of the good God is doing, resulting in peace and even joy. Sometimes, instead of seeing where God’s grace and compassion was at work I overlooked His loving attributes - His goodness and kindness.
The great compassion of God is evident throughout the Bible. It is very clear; He is compassionate towards His people. He answers our prayers out of His compassion for us. However, His ways are mysterious and how He works in our lives is often not understood. Because we don’t understand this at times, our challenge is to live like we completely understand that His grace and compassion are always upon us. Keeping this in mind makes it easier to take our eyes off of ourselves and push away from an attitude of sulking in what seems unfair or unwanted circumstances.
A desire for my words to always speak grace and compassion is now rooted in my heart. I am committed to keep practicing this because of God's great compassion towards me.
The last words recorded from Jonah say “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” Jonah 4:9.b (ESV). Isn’t that sad? Our takeaway from Jonah is a better response. God's compassion for his people can be our focus.
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