The Heart of God for the Lost (Part 2)

Jonah 4:1-3, ESV

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 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. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Luke 15:25-32, ESV [The Parable of the Lost Son]

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

1 Corinthians 13:6, BSB

Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.

Love takes no pleasure in the suffering of others. Love rejoices in the redemption of others. 

We must love others as God does. We must love others as God loves us. 

If we look at Jonah’s response above, we can quickly see the contrast between the heart of God and the heart of Jonah for the people of Nineveh—much like the heart of the older brother in the Parable of the Lost Son. 

So what do we do if our heart is struggling to line up with God’s?

We go to God.

Both of the men in these stories were open with God about their feelings. In fact, God actually invited them to bring Him their feelings (Jonah 4:4, 9 and Luke 15:28). 

Both men poured out their feelings to the Lord, and God responded with an explanation of His heart.

The quickest way to get our heart back into alignment with God’s is to bring our feelings straight to Him. It’s just like any other relationship. When we are frustrated with someone about something, and we bring it to that person and allow them to speak into it, then that frustration loses its hold over our heart. 

When we go to God in confession of how we feel, and listen for His response, then God has an opportunity to speak to those feelings with the truth of His heart. 

So don’t hide from your frustrations with God—bring them to Him. And watch your heart begin to conform to His.