I’ll Take My Goldfish Now, Please!

Have you ever gotten angry at God because of something He wanted you to do? Jonah did. Reading through the Book of Jonah, it’s easy to think badly of him for running from God and getting angry about God’s plans for him. But if I’m being honest, I have to admit there are times I‘ve gotten mad at God, and if you’ve been a Christ-follower very long, you probably have too.

I’m learning a lot about this anger thing from my 3-year-old daughter, Macie. Macie is in a phase right now where she melts down anytime she doesn’t get her way. It’s not so much a disrespectful type of meltdown; it’s just that she doesn’t understand why I don’t see things her way. In her mind, having lived three full years, she knows what’s best for herself for any situation that may come up.

For example, when my wife and I pick Macie up from school each day, she likes to have a little snack for the trip home. The snack usually consists of leftovers from her lunch or breakfast such as Goldfish or Fruit Loops. One day this week, I knew Macie was going to get a much better treat when we got to small group, so I told her to wait. What happened when I withheld her regular snack could be described as wailing and gnashing of teeth. Macie couldn’t see past her own plan long enough to trust that what I offered was better. How often have we given up the better thing God has for us simply because it didn’t come how or when we wanted it to?

I get impatient when God doesn’t move fast enough. I lose trust when things don’t turn out the way I think they should. I even get angry when my plan is ignored. I act very much like a 3-year-old at times. But why? I know God wants what’s best for me and He knows the best way to get me there. Yet it’s hard to submit my plans.

Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe your current circumstances have you wondering why God is doing things a certain way or why He’s ignoring your ideas. Keep trusting that He knows what He’s doing. In the same way I ask my daughter to trust me, God is asking us to trust Him. And who knows? Maybe if we learn to trade our plans for His in the first place, unlike Jonah, we can avoid the three days in the whale part of the story.