Comfort and Control | Greg Breazeale
Jonah 4:1 ESV
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
Jonah 1:2 ESV
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
Jonah 4:2-11 ESV
2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
God's Wildness
God's Difficulties
God's Heart
God's Wildness
Jonah 4:2 ESV
2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
“God really believes that He is the most worthy, most majestic, magnificent, glorious, stunningly beautiful being in the universe, that only He deserves worship – that to Him alone belong honor, glory, and praise forever and forever. With red-rimmed, stinging eyes and burning hair, all we can say is – He is right. He is astonishingly beautiful, utterly majestic and perfect in the symmetries of justice and righteousness, knowledge, and wisdom. He is as compelling as a surging forest fire and ten times as dangerous. He is out of control – ours, not His.” (The God Who Smokes, 83)
- "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." (Psalm 115:3 ESV)
- “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11 ESV)
- "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
- "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?'" (Romans 11:33-34 ESV)
- "I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols." (Isaiah 42:8 ESV)
“Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he is good. He’s the King I tell you!” - The Chronicles of Narnia
God's Difficulties
Jonah 4:6-8a ESV
6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.
God wants the same joy in you whether He gives a plant or a worm.
Romans 8:28a NIV
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him...
God's Heart
Jonah 4:11 ESV
11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”