Realigning

Read Jonah 4.

For those who have not read Jonah before or if it has been a while, are you surprised when you see that Jonah was angry with God? Why was Jonah so twisted up inside?

How have you seen anger play out in spiritual conversations? How has anger maybe even prevented you from sharing your faith?

Going from Jonah’s home (Gath-Hepher, a few miles north of Nazareth) to Nineveh (about 500 miles northeast) wasn’t free. We don’t know what resources Jonah had to use, such as food, drink, clothing, money for travel and additional food, supplies, and housing but we can be sure this trip took personal investment. All to take a trip he didn’t want to take, in order to reach a people with a message he was grateful for himself, but did not want the cruel Ninevites to experience.

• Why do people get so defensive, maybe even angry, when it comes to conversations of using our resources for ministry? What does our reaction to the church asking for money to do God’s work of sharing the Gospel and equipping others to share the Gospel reveal about our heart and our thoughts?
• What are valid fears or reasons people may have to be skeptical of giving to a church?
• What are unwarranted fears or excuses people may have about giving to church ministry?
• How do these verses encourage a healthy and mature view of giving to the Lord?

(2 Corinthians 9:7-10; Proverbs 11:25; 1 Chronicles 29:14; Proverbs 3:27)

What principles can we draw from Jonah’s reasoning and God’s responses in Jonah 4:6-10 when it comes to (A) reaching people and (B) having wrong views and attitudes of God’s provisions? How does this reveal that Jonah’s heart was not aligned with God’s?

God’s answer to Jonah in 4:11 should be such an encouragement and motivator for us in unleashing our personal resources for God’s work – That God has great pity/compassion on the lost.

• How do you find yourself daily thanking God for His great compassion on you?
• How does your management of God’s resources reflect that?
• Who are 3 people that you want God to show His great compassion for? Pray for them by name that they will sense God’s love and compassion for them and to come to know Christ.

Also ask God to sift your heart for known or hidden anger that is stunting your effectiveness to live for Him and to share the Gospel with others, and to remove it. Ask God to realign your heart where you have strayed.