This verse always makes me smile. Just when we think all was going well, our prophet would be happy again, the very thing that made him happy disappeared! Jonah must have wondered what was going to happen next, and we can imagine that he would be angry about the worm.
It seems to me that Jonah was the centre of his world, and his moods changed according to his circumstances. Do yours? Being a Christian is to live like Jesus did, He did not seem to have bad moods, and He is renowned for living for others instead of himself.
There are often times when we pray for something and God does not seem to hear. My own experience of unanswered prayer was when I had a gall bladder problem. But I am so glad those prayers were not answered. The experiences I had then were worth all the suffering!
What makes you angry? Do you think the same things make God angry? What do you do with your anger? Remember that anger is not a sin, it is what we do with the anger than can be sinful, and the Bible tells us to let our anger be short-lived.
How sad that Jonah did not feel able to rejoice at the fact that thousands of people had turned to the Lord who loved them and forgave all who turn to Him. What a great testimony it could have been! But Jonah focused not on the Lord but on himself.
Jonah still has some growing to do at this point in the story. He is a long way from thinking the same way as God. He does not have the same compassion and love. And he is just embarrassed that what he told the people of Nineveh did not happen.
Prayer works. Only at the end of time will we realise how much disaster and destruction God has saved us from as a result of prayer. Think about how many near misses you might have had. Think of yourself and others and rejoice that God has brought you this far.
This heathen king had heard about the God of the Jews and about His fierce anger. His reputation had gone before Him! The King of Nineveh had heard that The Lord could be a compassionate God, but he was also aware that the sins of his people deserved death.
Many people will tell you that they have learned a lot through their pets, or that God sent a stray animal to be looked after just when someone needed a friend or someone on whom they could lavish love. Maybe the animals have more to teach us than we think!
What a wonderful picture of repentance this is. Even the king was dressed in sackcloth and went to sit in the dust, repenting for himself and for his people. The people in his court would have no choice but to do the same! God did exactly what Jonah expected!
EN 
FR