today's meditation (Jonah 4) Being Aligned

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Jonah 4:1-11) But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. 2 Then he prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. 3 So now, Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” 4 But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

5 Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So the Lord God designated a plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah was overjoyed about the plant. 7 But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. 8 And when the sun came up God designated a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life!”

9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” 10 Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. 11 Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Jonah was angry for selfish reasons.  Things had not gone his way.  He had wanted all the people of Nineveh to die a terrible death, but had wanted that tree to stay alive, even though he had nothing to do with its existence.  Meanwhile, yes, God hates sin and will judge and punish all sinners.  Does He want to?  No!  God loves all people and has created all of us with a purpose, with a desire that we all come to know Him personally.  And when anyone humbly goes to Him for salvation, He will forgive all their sins and save them from eternal death.

If our hearts are right with God and aligned with His will... we will be praying for our own worst enemies to find salvation...  We would graciously forgive all those who hurt us, because God has forgiven us of all OUR sins...  Let's not get all high and mighty with pride, we are no better than anyone else!  So let us celebrate when anyone comes to know the Lord personally!   Let us pray for all our brothers and sisters in Christ that they grow in the Lord and remain steadfast.  And instead of criticizing each other or waiting for someone to stumble, let us help and encourage one another!  The more aligned we are to Jesus and His word, the more we will be aligned with each other!