全心顺服讨上帝喜悦。

Obedience pleases God.

The L replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4:4

耶和华说：“你这样发怒合乎理吗？”-约拿书4章4节

It became painfully clear the first time my wife and I collaborated on a writing project that procrastination was going to be a major obstacle. Her role was to edit my work and keep me on schedule; my role seemed to be to drive her crazy. Most times, her organization and patience outlasted my resistance to deadlines and direction.

记得我和妻子第一次合作写书的时候，我不得不承认我拖稿的习惯是最大的障碍。她的职责是编辑我的文稿，并督促我完成进度，但我写作的习惯却快把她逼疯。大多数的时候，她的组织能力和耐性，足以弥补我拖稿和分心的坏习惯。

I promised to have a certain amount of writing done by the end of one day. For the first hour, I plugged away diligently. Satisfied with what I’d accomplished so far, I decided to take a break. Before I knew it, my time was up. In trouble for sure, I thought of a way out. I set about doing a couple of chores my wife despised and which always netted me praise when I did them.

然而有一次，我答应她当天会完成一定的进度。一开始，我集中火力埋头苦干。我对自己的进度感到非常满意，就决定休息一下。一眨眼，休息时间就超过了。想当然尔，我的麻烦大了，所以我就另想方法。我决定做一些妻子不爱做的家事，希望能讨她的欢心。

My plan failed.

可惜，我的计划失败了。

I sometimes play the same games with God. He brings specific people into my life He wants me to serve or tasks He wants me to accomplish. Like Jonah, who went another way when God gave Him an assignment (Jonah 4:2), I need to set aside my own feelings. I often try to impress God with good deeds or spiritual activity when what He really wants is obedience to His priorities. Inevitably, my plan fails.

有时候，我也跟上帝玩同样的把戏。祂会将某些人带到我的生命中，要我服事他们，或要我完成一些任务。但如同一开始就跟上帝唱反调的约拿一样 (约拿书4章2节) ，我也需要顺服，把自己的感受放到一边。然而，我却仍试图用好行为、读经、祷告，或是参与教会的活动来讨好上帝，但上帝只要我顺从祂的命令。可想而知，我的计划失败了。

Are you dodging duties God makes clear He wants you to tackle? Trust me: Real contentment comes from doing it in His strength and in His way.

你是否正躲避上帝清楚要你承担的责任呢？相信我：唯有倚靠上帝的大能，并遵循祂的方式完成此事，你才会有真正的满足。

Loving Father, help us to recognize our busyness and distractions for what they so often are—disobedience and inattention to the work You have given us to do.

慈爱的天父，
求祢帮助我们明白自己的忙碌和分心，
往往是因为我们不顺服，
或不重视祢所交付的任务。

Jonah 4NIV

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 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 knewthat 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[a]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?”

整理：于姊妹