No More Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Days

"But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine 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.' But God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?' 'I do' he said. 'I am angry enough to die.' But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Ninevah has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about this great city?'" Jonah 4:7-11

Something inside of me just went off on Sunday.  My inner, tortured musician soul flared up.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're not a musician.  Let's just say that when a musician gets frustrated, you should stay out of their path.  Band practice did not go well for me on Sunday, and I carried my frustration for the rest of the day.  Literally, I was a grouch all day.  I even went so far as to tell my husband that he needed to let me be in a bad mood for the rest of the day.  I promised I would let it go on Monday morning.

True to my word, when I woke up on Monday, life was happy again.  Tuesday I was a nice person.  And now that it's Wednesday, I'm actually feeling embarrassed and guilty about my attitude on Sunday.  It was no one else's fault that I was not feeling the music on Sunday.  And it really doesn't matter.  At some point I'm going to figure out this song (which happens to be a fabulous song), and we are going to sing it in praise and worship at the top of our lungs.  It's going to be great.  I had no right to allow that one song to turn in me into a complaining grouch for the rest of the day. 

I don't know why I feel entitled to have a bad day every so often.  Sometimes I think that it's ok to be a miserable person and to whine about everything going on.  I have even been known to justify a trip to Starbucks or to the mall, because of these "bad days." 

Today in my Bible study, I came across the story of Jonah.  In just four short chapters, Jonah has numerous bad days and a blatant bad attitude.  He doesn't want to do anything that God tells Him to do.  And as a result, God has a fish swallow him, sends him to minister to the people he most dislikes, and allows him to experience some physical misery.  In the end, however, God tells Jonah that he does NOT have the right to complain.  God called Jonah to minister to a particular people in a particular place.  That's all that mattered.  God really didn't care if Jonah wanted to be there or not.  God's plan was to use Jonah to influence the lives of many.  Jonah's momentary unhappiness and sunburn because of a dead vine did not give him the right to get angry or to be miserable.

What a great reminder.  God usually makes it clear when He wants us in a particular place with a particular people.  We don't have a right to be angry about where or how God is using us.  We just have to be willing to be used.  And when we start griping and complaining about little things in our lives, all we do is prevent ourselves from being useful for God's purposes.  As God reminded Jonah, we don't have the right to complain and be useless.

I'm going to try my hardest to stop having bad days.  I don't have that right.  I'm not entitled to unhappiness and misery.  I've been called to be useful and obedient for God's purposes.  So I guess if you hear me complaining, please remind me not to be a Jonah.