Recovering from Resentment
Jonah 4:1-11
This morning we’re going to look at the conclusion of the book of Jonah. Now I have to admit, I was tempted to stop where we left off last week…where we saw the outpouring of God’s Spirit through the revival in Nineveh. That seems like a great place to stop, but Jonah’s story doesn’t end there. It goes on to add one final chapter, and I don’t believe it’s here by mistake.
Before we go any further though, we need to understand something about revival. Revival is a purely genuine move of the Holy Spirit. We can’t control the Holy Spirit of God, but we can quench it. And one of the main ways we quench the Holy Spirit is through the sin of resentment.
In this final chapter, we will see that Jonah struggled with resentment. He couldn’t stand the fact that the Ninevites had received God’s blessing. So he goes outside the city, sits down filled with bitterness, and wishes he were dead. He began to complain about little things.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in a similar situation. None of us are immune to this disease that ate away at Jonah. And so the question that I want God’s Word to answer for us today is, how do we recover from resentment?
Read Text
The Results of Resentment
Resentment affects us in several ways. First of all, it…
A. Destroys our Peace
You would think that after everything Jonah had gone through to get to this point, he would be rejoicing. He disobeyed God, got swallowed up by a great fish, repented and received a second chance, had a front row seat to a great revival, yet we read, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.” The word angry here means “to burn.” Jonah was burning with anger. Last time I checked, anger is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus came to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly. The evidence that a person is truly filled with the Spirit of God is “love, joy and peace.” Jonah began to pray an interesting prayer. Let me read it to you again from the KJV:
I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Honestly I don’t know why some of the modern translations changed a very important phrase in this text because I think that the KJV hits the nail on the head. Jonah begins his prayer with the phrase, “I knew.” This is quite a contrast to the Apostle Paul, who repeatedly used the words, “I know.”
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Tim. 1:12).
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28).
Jonah was living in the past, when he says “I knew”. But Paul was confident in the present, when he says “I know”. What are you saying today? Are you saying “I knew”? Or can you say, “I know”? Some of us are so full of resentment that the only thing we know about the peace of God is in the past.
Today there are a lot of Christians just like Jonah. Jonah knew all about obeying God, but he had no joy in that obedience. In his anger, Jonah had the audacity to blame God for his problems. But his problems weren’t because of God, they were because of Jonah. And just like Jonah, it’s impossible for someone who is filled with anger to have peace in their life. Another result of resentment is that it…
B. Diverts our Purpose
In this passage, we see who Jonah was really interested in…Himself. He said, “it is better for me…”. His resentment was causing him to make decisions based on what was best for him. How many Christians have had their purposes diverted because things didn’t go their way and they allowed resentment to build in their hearts?
Jonah’s pride was crushed. He was hoping that Nineveh would be destroyed so that he could say, “I told you so.” He was so self-centered that twice in this chapter he basically said, “Well If I can’t have my way, then I don’t want to live.” He was like the little kid on the playground who got mad because he couldn’t have his way so he took his ball and went home. He failed to realize that Burger King’s motto isn’t always reality…you don’t always get to “have it your way”.
The prophet Elijah had a similar experience and said the same thing a few decades earlier. And interestingly enough, Elijah’s depression also came right after a great victory. Immediately after defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, the Bible says:
And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:3-4).
Just like Jonah, Elijah sat down and wanted to die. Remember, these were men who had been used greatly by God. But they allowed resentment into their hearts and they not only had their peace destroyed, but now their purpose was diverted. And here’s what we need to understand: If it happened to these great men of God, it can certainly happen to us if we’re not careful. A third result of resentment found in this passage is that it…
C. Diminishes our Productiveness (v. 5)
There are two things that stand out to me in this verse. First of all, I find in interesting that he left the city of Nineveh. This was a man who had been given a second chance and seized this opportunity by taking God’s message to Nineveh. As a result of his obedience, the entire city was saved. If there was ever a time Jonah needed to be in Nineveh, it was during the days following the revival. Thousands had repented and were in need of guidance and teaching. Instead, they were left like sheep without a shepherd.
Some of us have gone “out of the city” when we should’ve stayed put. Some of us left to escape the burdens and heartaches of others when we should’ve stayed and put an arm around them. But in our resentment and self-centeredness, our productiveness was diminished.
Secondly, we see that “sat”. I brought this up a couple of Wed. nights ago: Have you ever noticed how much of our spiritual lives are spent sitting? We come to church and sit in service; we sit in SS; we sit in DT; we sit in Prayer Meeting; we sit in committee meetings. When you really think about it, much of our time at church is spent sitting!
Why was Jonah sitting? The city was rejoicing, but not Jonah. Those who are filled with resentment are like that. Instead of rejoicing with those who’ve been set free, they focus on themselves. Why? Because their productiveness and purpose are gone. Their sense of mission is gone. Their sense of usefulness is gone. The final result of resentment found in this chapter is that it…
D. Distorts our Perspective
Jonah wasn’t grateful for the thousands of people had just been saved, but he was “very grateful for the plant.” It’s amazing to me how little it takes to make some people happy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed someone walk down the aisle to make a public profession of faith and people will smile, and they may even clap. But let their favorite team score the winning touchdown and they’re jumping up and down for joy. You can tell a lot about a person by observing what makes them happy and what makes them mad.
I once heard someone say that you can shut the light of the sun out with a penny if you hold it close enough to our eye. That’s the way it is with a resentful person. When we get outside of God’s will, our perspective becomes distorted and we begin to focus on little things. Unfortunately, this is the case in the majority of todays churches. We spend all our time focusing on petty things that ultimately make no difference whatsoever in advancing the kingdom of God.
This is an easy trap for us to fall in if we’re not careful…when we become more concerned about our plant than about people’s souls. But make no mistake about it, we’re here for two reasons: to worship God, and to advance His kingdom. If we’re not doing that, we’re doing a disservice to God, ourselves and others. But there’s a lesson to be learned here from Jonah, let’s look at…
2. God’s Response to Resentment
A. Patience
After Jonah told God that he wished he were dead, God could’ve easily granted Jonah’s request. But instead, He responded with patience.
Aren’t you thankful that we serve a God who is patient? Aren’t you glad that, despite our shortcomings and failures, God hasn’t given up on us? Not only only did God respond to Jonah’s resentment with patience, but He also responded with…
B. Preparation (Vv. 6-7)
Looking at these two verses, we see that God prepared a plant for Jonah only to destroy it the next day. Why would God do such a thing? Because He was preparing Jonah, and us as well, for a very valuable lesson: Soon our plant will be gone but God never will. There’s going to come a day when that thing in which you centered your life around will be gone.
Jonah’s happiness was determined by the changing circumstances of his life instead of by the unchanging God who controlled those circumstances. What is your plant? What blessing in your life are you tempted to place above the One who prepared the blessing?
Some of you may feel like God has forgotten about you and now you’re filled with anger. Is it possible that you found more comfort in your plant than in Jesus Christ? When God sees that your plant has taken center stage in your life, He might just send a worm to show you that it’s the eternal things in life that are most important…not the temporary things.
Even though he didn’t realize it, Jonah needed this worm so that he might start looking to God instead of the plant. That trial that you’re going through, that worm in your life, may have been placed there to prepare you for something better. Thank God for the plant, but thank God for the worm also. Finally, we see that God also responds to our resentment with…
C. Pardon
God’s response to Jonah’s resentment here truly is amazing! To think that almighty God would place Himself on a level playing field and reason with Jonah as He did. Throughout this whole conversation with Jonah God is basically saying, “Jonah, have you forgotten how merciful I’ve been towards you? I could’ve given up on you when you chose to disobey Me, but I didn’t. I didn’t have to prepare a fish to protect you when you were thrown into the sea, but I did. Why shouldn’t I respond the same way to those in Nineveh?” Paul taught a similar lesson to the Ephesian church:
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Eph. 4:30-32).
Jonah’s story ends without us ever knowing what happened. Did he hang on to his resentment to the very end, or did he learn his lesson? We will never know for sure this side of heaven, but I like to believe that he did and I’ll tell you why. Jonah’s story could’ve ended with chapter 3 and the great revival, but we’re given another chapter to show us what he was really like…allowing God to have the final word.
How will your story end? Are you suffering from resentment? If so, then you need to know that it’s destroying your peace. It’s diverting your purpose. It’s diminishing your productiveness, and it’s distorting your perspective. Resentment is a sin and you need to deal with it like any other sin. Confess and repent.
