Anger, pride, discouragement, despair. Sounds pretty messy, doesn’t it? Well, just wait; there’s more. This week we looked at the story of Jonah and the mess of bitterness. Bitterness can creep in as we judge others, seeing them as “the problem”. Bitterness can also come in when we face hard times and don’t get the outcome we think we should. Before we know it, a root of bitterness has taken hold in our life.
In Pastor Adam’s sermon, he spoke of Jonah and how he let bitterness keep him from the purpose God had for him. First, let’s read Jonah 1:1-2 (NIV) and see what it was that God wanted Jonah to do. “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2) “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” So Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was causing quite a few really big problems for the surrounding people. Nahum 3:1-4 (NLT) really lays out a clear picture of the devastation and violence of Nineveh. It’s a bad place, filled with bad people, “those people”. And those are just the kind of people that need God, and God tells Jonah to go.
Jonah gets clear direction from the Lord, and yet, he’s got a mess of bitterness going on. He is like, “Ummm, those people?” Jonah’s heard all the stories about the people of Nineveh, and he makes a choice. Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” Jonah is letting bitterness win.
This week we will read through the story of Jonah and see what happens when the mess of bitterness calls the shots.
Monday: Do you find yourself struggling with the mess of bitterness? Are you looking at “those people” who caused you hurt or failed you in some way, and you didn’t “deserve” that? Did you pray and ask God for something, and it went the opposite direction? Worshipful prayers became bitterness? You may feel entitled to hold onto the bitterness. What you are facing may be very hard, but when we choose to hold onto bitterness, it’s really only hurting us. Pastor Adam gave the example, “Bitterness is like setting yourself on fire and hoping the smoke bothers the other person.” Messes keep us from being who God wants us to be and doing what he wants us to do.
Reflection/Action:
Consider if you are holding onto the mess of bitterness. Is it calling the shots? One thing Jonah just can’t see is that he himself is becoming “one of those people” by disregarding God’s assignment for him to go to Nineveh. Read Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Ask God to show you very clearly if you have any root of bitterness. Invite Him to help you give it all to Him.
Tuesday:
We see in Jonah 1:3 that Jonah ran away from God. Nineveh was about 550 miles one way, and Jonah headed in the opposite direction and boarded a boat for Tarshish (about 2500 miles in the opposite direction). Jonah was so upset about “those people” that he was acting like one of them! This is the perfect place to be reminded that this is where we are pointed to the Gospel…Romans 3:23 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Pastor Adam quoted Brené Brown, “We are all those people. Most of us are one paycheck, one divorce, one drug addicted kid, one mental health diagnosis, one serious illness, one sexual assault, one drinking binge, one affair - from being “those people” the ones we don't trust, the ones we pity, the ones we don't let our children play with, the ones bad things happen to, the ones we don't want to live next door to.”
Reflection/Action:
Have we lost sight that we have become “those people?” The ones we look down on and judge? Those people that_______________? Or those people
That_______________? Fill in the blank. Ask God to help you see how you have lost sight of your own place among “those people”, the very ones that you judge or even may really have a reason to feel hurt by. Read Ephesians 4:31 (NIV) “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
Wednesday:
Jonah says no to God, and God still wants Jonah to go to Nineveh. God has a plan. Jonah 1:4-5a (NIV) “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5) All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.”
It might be easy to feel like God is not with you anymore, or you feel the “storm” in your life just proves God has left. What if the storm is God’s grace and pursuit in the middle of your mess?
Reflection/Action:
Have you told God no to something He has asked you to do? Do you feel the bitterness is deep? God loves you, and you cannot just “get rid” of Him. He will pursue you. God has a plan, and His ways and thoughts are not like ours. Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9) For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Invite the Lord to help you as you face the bitterness. Allow Him to “see” your mess.
Thursday:
In reading further in the book of Jonah, we see how things are going for him. We read in Jonah 1:4-5a that God sent a great storm, and where do we find Jonah? “But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” (Jonah 1:5b) The captain, who is a pagan, asks Jonah in verse 6, “The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” The poor captain is desperate and also does not begin to understand how Jonah could be sound asleep through all of this. So Jonah fesses up: Jonah 1:9 “He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” And here is the most familiar part of the story Jonah 1:15-17. Jonah is thrown overboard and “the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah,” (17) and he was in the belly of that fish for three days and three nights!
Reflection/Action:
Have you forgotten who you are? In wanting to “show those people” have you become one of “those people”? Are you trying hard to ignore that nudge inside to invite God in? Maybe it’s time, like Jonah, to come clean. What do you see as a sign of God’s ultimate provision because He continues to pursue you? It’s probably not a large fish, but what is it?
Friday:
Jonah 2:1-2 (NIV) ”From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,” Verse 10, “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah prayed, AND God answered him. AND we see that God gives Jonah a second chance. We read in Jonah 3:1-2 (NIV)Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2) “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” We read that Jonah obeys, “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.” The message he told them was they had 40 days to repent, or God would destroy them. The king of Nineveh (v6) got up from his throne, took off his robe in exchange for sackcloth, and sat down in the dust. And then in v8b he tells people to call on God and repent. God sees and in v10, God relents and does not destroy them.
Reflection/Action:
God is a God of second and third and fourth, etc. chances. Jonah prayed, God heard and reminded of what He had called Jonah to. Jonah obeyed, Nineveh repented, and ultimately God forgave them. Do you believe God is a God of second (plus) chances? Have you experienced this? If so, take some time to reflect on how God worked in your life through a second chance. Read and meditate on this verse 1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One.”
Saturday:
Jonah experienced God giving him a second chance. He prayed, and God delivered him from the big fish. God told him to go to Nineveh, and he did. It would be nice if we could tie this story up with a big bow and have a happy ending. Nineveh repented, and God did not destroy them. But let’s read on in Jonah 4:1-2 (NIV) But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2) He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah knows God is a loving and gracious God, he himself experienced it. Yet, he just could not get over the fact that God had extended mercy to Nineveh. Jonah did not feel they “deserved it”. He has prayed and acknowledged the truth about God, yet he also prayed from a place of bitterness. And so, in verse 3, Jonah asks God to just let him die. The rest of the book of Jonah is an exchange between God and Jonah talking and God trying to get Jonah to understand, but Jonah is not letting go of the bitterness. And there is no resolution. This is not how we like stories to end.
Reflection/Action:
Pastor Adam asked this question at the end of his sermon, “How will your story end? Are you holding onto bitterness and you feel entitled because “those people” don’t deserve you to forgive them or for God to bless them? Letting go of your bitterness, forgiving “those people” feels like a loss to you. Do you realize that holding on to this mess of bitterness is only really holding you captive? God has forgiven you, it’s time to forgive “those people” and let God bring freedom and peace into your heart and life. Maybe you’ve told the Lord “No”, but remember that just because you didn’t do what He asked you to do last time doesn’t mean you can’t do what God asked you to this time. Meditate on this verse and how it applies to you and how it applies to others: 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” So, how will your story end?