Think about the small and large events and relationships in your life

  • Marriage, career, education, your car, your home, parties, and gatherings you attended
  • How you view the failure or success of any of those will depend on your Expectations
  • What had you determined in your mind that outcome would be
  • What were you thinking or feeling
  • The mental ending, the conclusion

Toxic Expectation: Having an unrealistic expectation that poisons our attitude when the result is anything less than what we imagined

Review
Jonah ran from God
He was in the belly of the beast – Attitude

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 3.1
So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the LORD’s command. 3.3.

Jonah goes to Nineveh and prophesies against the city
Word of his prophecy reaches the King
The King took off his royal robes – sackcloth/ashes
Calls the entire city to pray/repent call on God
► And…(3.10)…

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3.10

God told Jonah to tell the people of the city that destruction was coming
He did that, but God changed his mind and didn’t destroy them
► And so…

…to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. Jonah 4.1

Ever gotten angry at God for something turning out different
How God chose to do this didn’t seem right

► In our relationship w/God…a…
►Toxic Expectation comes when we define the goodness of God through our personal expectations

Jonah had a toxic expectation of God
►Jonah goes on to say that’s one of the reasons he ran from God to begin with

…I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 4.2

But, You said you were going to destroy the city!
And now you’re not, so…

…Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4.2-3

This is a common line of thinking
We don’t obey God in some way, we suffer the consequences for it, we consider the consequences to be costly and painful
So we circle back and obey God and in our minds, us coming back around and obeying should somehow bring about the result we expect

Like we don’t tell the whole truth at work. We suffer for it

So the next time we are tempted to not tell the whole truth, we tell the whole truth and suffer even greater damage than the lie!
We can’t have expectations that every act of obedience will result in some kind of blessing.

► We should NOT define the goodness of God, but rather wholeheartedly trust His goodness in spite of the outcome

We speak this truth
► God is Good —All the time and All the time —God is good
► If we truly believe that, our attitude should be…this…

►I will obey God because I love God, not because of what I may receive from God

► Jonah didn’t have that mindset, so God asks him a Q…

“Is it right for you to be angry?” 4.4

Jonah still all mad goes out of the city and finds a place to rest
Sun was scorching and hot, God provides a plant that shades him from the heat
This made Jonah very happy – maybe God is coming around and is about to apologize to me
► But…

But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 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.” Jonah 4.7-8

This is a bad time for me.
Still smell like blubber Bowels
Tired of walking around this city for days
You changed your mind and embarrassed me
You gave me an awesome shady plant but then not only did you take it away, so I’m completely exposed to the sun, but you have added a not scorching wind!

Oh yeah! I’m justified anger at you God!
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.” 4.9

God is trying to teach Jonah a lesson.
This is the second time He asks the Q
Is it right for you to be angry?

►NO! Even if it turns out the way you wanted, God explains…

“You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 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?” Jonah 4.10-11

►God’s goodness is about people, not our personal comfort

Jonah had concern and compassion for that which brought him comfort
Jonah was going to feel comfortable with the destruction of a city of people because he said it was going to happen
Others will think less of me
I will lose my reputation
It’s not just obeying God indeed but also the draw of God’s heart
God accomplished the desire of His heart, that the great city of Nineveh would turn to Him
Jonah didn’t share God’s heart, he was only concerned about his reputation and comfort

As followers of Jesus, there will be many times that we will suffer for doing good
But if when you do what is right and patiently bear [undeserved] suffering, this finds favor with God. 1 Peter 2.20

Let’s wrap this up with a few reminders…

 Toxic Expectation – Having an unrealistic expectation that poisons our attitude when the result is anything less than we imagined

► We should NOT define the goodness of God, but rather wholeheartedly trust His goodness in spite of the outcome

►I will obey God because I love God, not because of what I may receive from God

►God’s goodness is about people, not our personal comfort

Email my notes