Revival Reflections Pt. 2

Bro. Keith's message opened up Jonah 4:1-4 tonight. In this passage, Jonah express great anger over the great graciousness of God. To be frank, this passage haunts me. Jonah is not in a moment of personal lose and grief when he becomes angry with God. Jonah is not witnessing some atrocious crime being perpetrated against one of God's people. The source of his anger is God's gracious character. He states, "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" (Jonah 4:2).

Jonah, in essence, despised God for his mercy. Jonah would rather die than live in a world where God redeemed unworthy sinners. Anger against God is sin, as Bro. Keith pointed out tonight. But anger over his graciousness is incomprehensible. When we worship the God who reveals himself in the Word, then we cannot justify anger against him. How can someone be angry with One who is righteous, holy, just, good, and perfect? God, as he reveals himself in Scripture, is incapable of evil or wrongdoing, so therefore, how can we be angry with him?

To press the question farther, how can we possibly be angry with God for his grace? But there are those who despise God for his grace. They can handle his sovereignty (so they think). They can handle his omnipotence (so they think). Then can handle that he knows everything (so they think). But the thought of God showing grace to those they deem unworthy is unthinkable to them.

Let's get personal. Are we angry with God, because he has shown grace to someone or some group we despise? Are we like Jonah, angry and pouting, because God has been kind to someone we hate? Are we offended by grace? Is that why we bristle when we hear the word election (the bible doctrine not the political kind)? Is it because we can't see merit in someone, so we assume God couldn't either?

The plain truth is that it's absurd to hate grace, because we all need it. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Rom. 3:23). We must not forget, as Jonah apparently did, how far down the Lord stooped to rescue us. I keep searching my heart to see if I am harboring any anger toward God, particularly toward his grace. I am praying that the Lord would show me if it is there.

Keith presented the biblical solution to overcoming our anger against God. We must wholeheartedly trust in the God who has revealed himself in Scripture. The more we know of the true God, the easier it is to trust him and the harder it becomes to be angry with him. When we see God as he truly is, there is no room for anger. Next, we must realize who we are. God is infinite in perfection. We are finite and imperfect. He sees all of eternity at once, we see a small slice of time as it is occurring. We can remember the past (partially), but we cannot glimpse the future at all. Ultimately, we must come to rest in his wisdom, and when we lack the wisdom to do so, all we have to do is ask him to give it.