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Who Is My Nineveh? — Monday, 05/11/2026

Scripture: Jonah 4:1-4

Jonah’s anger in chapter 4 feels shocking at first. God shows mercy to Nineveh, and Jonah becomes furious. But the deeper truth is this: Jonah did not want people he feared and hated to receive the same grace he had received.

Nineveh represented danger, violence, and oppression. Jonah had every reason to distrust them. Yet God still cared about them. That was the part Jonah could not accept.

Most of us probably do not think of ourselves as prejudiced or hateful people. But if we are honest, there are people we instinctively avoid, distrust, dismiss, or quietly write off. Sometimes it is political. Sometimes generational. Sometimes personal. Sometimes rooted in painful experiences from the past.

Fear has a way of reducing people into categories instead of seeing them as human beings. We stop seeing individuals and start seeing labels. “Those people.” “People like that.” “People who are ruining everything.”

But Jonah 4 asks an uncomfortable question: Who is my Nineveh? Who do I struggle to see with compassion? Who do I believe is outside the circle of concern?

The difficult truth is that God often loves people we struggle to understand. God’s compassion is always wider than our comfort zones.

The good news is this: God is patient with Jonah. And God is patient with us too. God keeps inviting us beyond fear and into mercy.

Reflection Question: Who is the “Nineveh” in my life right now?

Action Step: Pray honestly for one person or group you usually avoid or judge. Don’t pray to change them. Pray for their good.

Prayer: Merciful God, widen my heart where fear has narrowed it, and help me see people the way you see them. Amen.