Sulk like a child

Lily Cathcart July 11, 2025 4 1

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Jonah 4 (NIVUK)

1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’

4 But the Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’

5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’

9 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’

‘It is,’ he said. ‘And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.’

10 But the Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and also many animals?’

I have a five year old and she, like all children, has very big emotions in a still-small body. One of her current emotional outlets is to tell me ‘this is the worst day ever’ usually after I’ve told her she can’t do something. So when I read this passage about Jonah I can’t help but think of my little one.

The difference is that when I remind my little one of all the nice things she has done that day her sulk quickly fades and she excitedly recounts the good things she has done. Jonah, as an adult, finds it a bit harder to move his emotions into a place of joy, even with God. It can be difficult as adults when we get stuck in ways of thinking; we set our brains to look for the negative and forget to look for the positive.

Jonah’s story is full of bad things that happen, and he has a right to be sad about those. He even has a right to have a bit of a sulk, (though his dramatic mindset could use some work). But I feel like there are things missing from the book of Jonah. Where are his unexpected joyful moments? We all have them, where enjoyment grows up from between the rubbish we sometimes have to live through.

A lesson I will try to learn from Jonah, and from my five year old, is to find the joyful moments, the unexpected or planned moments which bring me a smile, and make sure that I then write those into my mind. I want to teach my mind to find joy, springing up, no matter what my life holds in the future.

Prayer:

Dear God alongside us,

Thank you that you are patient with us

Help us to see the goodness and joy

Help us to endure the bad as best we can

Remind us of your love no matter how we feel

Amen