God's Heart

God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil. So God changed his mind and did not do what he planned. He did not punish the people. Jonah was not happy that God saved the city. Jonah became angry. He complained to the Lord and said, “Lord, I knew this would happen! I was in my own country, and you told me to come here. At that time I knew that you would forgive the people of this evil city, so I decided to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind God. I knew that you show mercy and don’t want to punish people. I knew that you are kind, and if these people stopped sinning, you would change your plans to destroy them. So now, Lord, just kill me. It is better for me to die than to live.” Then the Lord said, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 3:10-4:4)

Don't be surprised when God acts 180-degrees from how you thought he'd act! God is always more concerned with our hearts than he is anything else. When the people moved to change their ways instead of continue in their depravity, Jonah was caught a little off-guard. He likely never expected God to just 'spare' their lives and show them all that grace. There are times when we need a whole lot of grace - like those 'belly of the whale' moments, or entanglement with the seaweed moments. It can sometimes be hard for us to realize God treats ALL sinners the same way - with love, grace, and hope. Even the most 'vile' of sin can be forgiven when one seeks his forgiveness. This is how Ninevah responded, and in turn, God seemingly 'changed his mind' about destroying them. Don't for a moment forget God knows the end from the beginning - sinners seeking grace is not a new thing for him!

Jonah thought he knew God's plan, but when the 'plan' changed, he didn't understand how that could happen. If we understand God sending him to deliver the message as a 'warning' that could give them a chance to repent, then we come a little closer to understanding the extreme love of God. He doesn't delight in evil things happening, nor does he delight in the depravity of sin and what it brings with it into a man's life. He does delight in any response that acknowledges the path a man has been traveling hasn't been right and has been destroying lives. He can 'work with' that acknowledgement and the desire to change. The actions that led God to send Jonah were still sinful and destructive to a whole nation. Change was needed and that is exactly what the King of Ninevah and the people acknowledge. God is always open to receiving a repentant soul.

Did God really 'change his mind', or did he know they would repent if given the right opportunity? We don't really know this because we have no other way of describing God's actions than to say he must have had a 'change of mind'. On the outside, that is how it looks. Did God know the message would evoke repentance? I honestly believe he did, but he wasn't through with Jonah's heart yet. It needed a bit more attention. We might think God is going to do something one way, but when he doesn't 'perform' as we thought, we can sometimes question if we heard God correctly. We might question if God really intended to do what he said. We don't need to second-guess God. We need to trust him when he asks us to do things we don't understand - even when they lead to greater things we still don't understand. He has a reason we may not comprehend, but he has a heart we can fully come to appreciate. Just saying!