Friday, June 10, 2016

When teaching on the book of Jonah I’ve often been asked, “Whatever happened to Jonah?” It seems like the book ends abruptly and leaves you hanging with a lot of unanswered questions regarding Jonah’s life. As I’ve thought about this I realized it was indeed Jonah who wrote this book and the book doesn’t portray his life in a very flattering way. He writes about his experience in a ruthlessly honest way. He extols God, His character, His compassion and His ability to do what He sets out to accomplish. And he presents the work of God in the lives of the Ninevites in a positive way. The more I thought about this I wondered if God had given him a prescription for deliverance from depression: start journaling, recording what God does in and through your life and in the lives of others. Writing this book could have resulted from God’s prescribed therapy to deliver Jonah from depression, and even more helpful, getting him to wrestle with his problem of anger. The book does end with the words of God, “Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Is it possible, as a result of journaling, that Jonah came to the same conclusion? Now, however, in humility, he didn’t want to exalt or draw attention to himself. Maybe he finally learned that God’s agenda is what really matters, not his own. Anyone learning this will be healthier, both emotionally and spiritually, and his life will be more fulfilled and fruitful. If you see yourself in the life of Jonah maybe you would benefit from journaling,