When God Removes What He Planted
A Lesson in Letting Go from Jonah’s Withered Gourd
“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.” (Jonah 4:10)
We’ve all had things in life that seemed to bloom overnight: relationships, opportunities, and seasons of joy that seemed divinely timed. However, when they vanish just as quickly, it leaves us bewildered.
I recently found comfort in an unexpected place: Jonah 4:10. After Jonah preached to Nineveh, he sat outside the city, sulking. God caused a gourd to grow over him, shading him from the scorching sun. Jonah loved that gourd because it made him comfortable. However, the next morning, God sent a worm to wither it away. Jonah was angry, and that’s when God said, “You had pity on the gourd for which you did not labour, neither made it grow.”
That verse hit me hard. Because sometimes, I grieve over something God never asked me to create. I’ve grieved over something He planted for a purpose, and then He removed when that purpose was done.
A Brief Look at Jonah’s Story
Jonah’s story is one of the most well-known and most misunderstood accounts in the Bible. God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, a violent and wicked city, to preach repentance. Yet, Jonah didn’t want to go. Instead, he boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction, trying to flee from God’s command.
A great storm came, and the sailors, realizing Jonah was the cause, threw him overboard. God then prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. Inside that fish’s belly, Jonah repented and cried out to God. After three days, the fish spit him out, and Jonah finally obeyed.
He preached to Nineveh, and to Jonah’s surprise, the people actually repented. God showed mercy and spared the city. However, Jonah was angry about that mercy. He wanted judgment on Nineveh. So he went outside the city to sit and watch, hoping maybe God would change His mind.
That’s when God caused the gourd to grow and then wither. Through that moment, God wasn’t just dealing with Jonah’s circumstances; He was dealing with Jonah’s heart. The gourd became the object lesson: Jonah cared more about his comfort than about God’s compassion.
The Gourd Was a Gift, Not a Guarantee
Jonah didn’t plant the gourd, but he quickly grew attached to it. It shaded him, soothed him, made his situation easier. Likewise, God may send someone or something into our lives for a time. He may send a person who brings joy, a relationship that seems meant to be, and a wonderful time that feels like a gift. However, just because something grows under God’s hand doesn’t mean it’s ours to keep.
Jonah’s gourd came up in a night and perished in a night. Yet, Jonah felt entitled to it. How often do we do the same? We mistake God’s temporary blessings for permanent promises.
Learning to Release What You Didn’t Raise
When God took the gourd away, Jonah was angry because he thought it was his. But God reminded him: You didn’t labor for this. You didn’t make it grow.
That truth changes how we grieve. When God removes something or someone we didn’t bring into our own lives, we can trust He’s the one who has the right to take it. It’s not cruelty; it’s God’s plan. We may not understand why God removes the shade when we still feel scorched by the sun, but His plan is bigger than our comfort.
Sometimes, God removes a person not because they were bad or we were, but because they were seasonal. The gourd wasn’t evil, it just wasn’t eternal.
When the gourd withered, Jonah was forced to confront himself. The shade was gone, and all that was left was Jonah and God. That’s what loss often does. Loss brings us face-to-face with who we are without the things (or people) we leaned on. God doesn’t take to punish; He takes to purify. He’s after our heart, not our habit of holding onto temporary comforts.
Conclusion
When we love something God gave, we can thank Him but when He takes it away, we can still worship Him like Job did “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). We can praise Him because the same hand that grew the gourd is the one guiding our growth too.
So maybe the takeaway is this:
If you didn’t plant it, don’t despair when God prunes it.
He knows what is temporary and what’s eternal, He knows when shade becomes a substitute for trust, and He knows how to comfort us when the sun feels too hot.