“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”Jonah 4:2 (NIV)
The Jonah Faithprint
Four spectrums that describe how this character relates to God. Yours may land in the same places.
The Story
God told Jonah to warn the city of Nineveh, and Jonah ran the opposite way (Jonah 1:3). A storm and a great fish later, he obeyed, the city repented, and Jonah was furious about it. He had not run because he doubted God. He ran because he knew God was merciful, and he did not want his enemies to receive that mercy (Jonah 4:2). The book ends with God asking him a question, and no record of his reply. If you matched with Jonah, your fight with God is less about belief and more about what he asks of you.
What Makes You Tick
You feel things strongly and you hold firm opinions about how things should go. When God’s way collides with yours, you would rather flee or sulk than pretend you are fine. Underneath the resistance is someone who actually believes, which is precisely why it bothers you so much.
Strengths & Struggles
In Relationships
With people you are direct and principled, but your sense of who deserves what can harden into a wall. With God you are honest to a fault, which beats being distant. You argue with him because you take him seriously. The question he leaves hanging is whether his compassion can ever become yours.
When Life Gets Hard
Under pressure you flee or you freeze. You book passage to Tarshish, or you sit under the plant and wait to die (Jonah 4:5-8). Either way you isolate. The turn comes when you stop running long enough to be honest about why you are angry.