Dealing with Unresolved Anger


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Dealing with Unresolved Anger

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3.22.15

Jonah 3:10-4:11

{a little backstory} The story of Jonah provides a great picture of anger toward God. God instructs Jonah to go to Ninevah to preach repentance and avoid His wrath. Jonah refuses and runs the opposite direction to try and escape God and His command. Jonah did not believe that the Ninevites were deserving of mercy, because they were violent toward the Israelites.

{keywords} Anger– a strong emotion of irritation, agitation, or hostility that occurs when a need or expectation is not met. It is an upsetting emotional reaction to an assumed “right” that has been violated or not fulfilled.

{an in depth study} Verse 10 – God saw the Ninevites turn from their evil ways and He relented from bring wrath upon them. He desires that all mankind would heed His warnings and obey Him. Verse 1-3 – God’s grace and compassion toward Ninevah greatly displeased Jonah. In his prayer he stated God’s character to be loving, gracious, merciful, slow to anger and willing to relent from harm. This was not what Jonah wanted. He wanted to see Ninevah destroyed because they were an opposing force to the Israelites. He’d rather die than live in a world where God would be compassionate toward their enemies. Verse 4 – God responds to Jonah’s prayer questioning whether he has a right to be angry. God as supreme ruler possess all rights to act as He chooses. When we attempt to assert our “rights”, we align ourselves to being peers to God. We are never peers to God we are always His creation and subject to His authority and power. Verse 5-7 –Jonah retreats to the outside of the city to watch in hopes of seeing God destroy the Ninevah. As his anger stirs and he waits, God cause a plant to grow and cover his head. The next day he causes a worm to eat the plant allowing it to die. Jonah declares that he’d wants to die because he is angry. All  Scripture  references  taken  from  NKJV  unless  otherwise  noted.  ©  2013  Rockwall  Friendship  Baptist  Church  |  www.RockwallFriendship.org  

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Verse 8-11 –Once again God demonstrates His power over all things. After the plant withers, He brings a powerful and hot wind. Jonah prays again to die and God questions his right to be angry. Jonah replies that he has the right to be angry to the point of death. God compares Jonah’s pity for the plant with His for the people of Ninevah.

{questions for personal reflection} Do you blame God for any of your anger? Do you find yourself unwilling to go to God with your anger? Do you feel that if God loved you, then He would have prevented things from happening to you? Do you find that your relationship with Him is flat, but feel unmotivated to try and change it? Do you feel that you need to keep certain areas of your life off limits from Him?

{practical application for your life} Know God’s Character – As we know God’s character we understand that His way and purposes go far beyond our wishes. So we do not expect God’s will to align with what we wish. Rather, we desire that our wishes mirror His will. Embrace God’s Purpose – Embracing God’s purpose does not mean that we fully understand all that He’s doing or allows. Rather, because we know His character we trust that His purpose is greater than the cause of my anger. We can trust that God intent toward us is always for good, because that His is character. Accept God’s Love – Anger towards God interferes with our accepting that he unconditionally loves us. As we accept His love, we accept that whatever happens in life we are never far from Him and His love. His love would not bear our unending suffering and pain. Confess your anger to God – Confessing our anger to God opens the door to heal and restore our relationship with Him. Confession draws us near to God, and the deep intimacy from that closeness heals the hurt, releasing us from the grip of anger. We are bring our anger to the only place and person who is able to address it in a right manner.

{scripture references} 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” All  Scripture  references  taken  from  NKJV  unless  otherwise  noted.  ©  2013  Rockwall  Friendship  Baptist  Church  |  www.RockwallFriendship.org  

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9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” 10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” Jonah 3:10-4:11

All  Scripture  references  taken  from  NKJV  unless  otherwise  noted.  ©  2013  Rockwall  Friendship  Baptist  Church  |  www.RockwallFriendship.org