Wow, what an awesome day today has been! God's presence has just been so real and powerful and still is even now! A few Sundays ago, at church, the sunday school lesson was about Jonah, and how he ran from God because God wanted him to do something he didn't want to do. Now most of you know the story about Jonah and how he was swallowed by a fish and stayed in the belly of the fish for 3 days and then ended up doing what God told him to do. But David and I came home after church and read the book of Jonah again, and it's amazing, how when you sit down with God's word, what He will reveal to you and show you.
Jonah loved God, and I don't believe he truely wanted to just disobey God, but God told him to do something he didn't like. God told him to go to Nineveh and warn them of His judgment against their city because of their evilness. Now Jonah had grown up hating the Assyrians because of their evil deeds, so he didn't want them to be warned. He knew the kind of mercy God had and he knew if they repented, God would forgive them, and he didn't want them to have God's mercy, so he wanted God to just kill them and not give them any warning. But God told him to go and warn them. So instead of Jonah obeying God, he was angry and so he decided to just run from God. Isn't it funny how sometimes when God wants us to do something, if we don't want to do it, we actually think we can run away from God? God is everywhere, we cannot hide from Him. So Jonah decided to head for Tarshish, paid his fare, and boarded the ship. God sent a great wind and violent storm which seemed as if it would destroy the ship. In the meantime, Jonah had went down below and went to sleep. He didn't seem to care that he was trying to run from God. All the sailors aboard were terrified and began praying to their gods but no relief came. When the captain found Jonah asleep, he told him to get up and call on his God to see if he would deliver them. They decided to cast lots and try and find out who was responsible for all this, and it landed on Jonah, only because God intervened to let Jonah know he couldn't run away. Jonah told them who he was and that he served the God of heaven, the creator of everything. He told them to just throw him overboard and they would be safe. But even these men, who worshipped other gods, didn't want to just throw him to what they thought would be his death, and they tried everything else first, but realized they had to throw Jonah over, so they even ask God to forgive them for that. Looking at this, God used Jonah, even in his foolishness, to be a witness to these men. Isn't that just like God! Jonah ended up being thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish that God has placed there, and he stayed in the belly of the fish 3 days, talking to God. He asked God to show him mercy, and told God he would obey him, so God delivered him from the fish and sent him to Nineveh to warn them.
Jonah went, he warned them of God's coming wrath on their city, and then went outside the city and sat and waited to see their destruction. In the meantime, the king called for a fast, said for all to put on sackcloth and ashes, and they repented. God had mercy, forgave them, and Jonah became even more angry. He told God, " I knew before I ever came here that You would do this. I knew if they repented, you would show mercy and forgive. This is why I didn't want to do this! So God, just go ahead and kill me." God told him he had no right to be angry. Then, God created a vine to grow up over Jonah's head and give him shade and comfort and this pleased Jonah. But then, the next day, God provided a worm and it chewed the vine and caused it to wither. Jonah was angry about this and once again asked God to just let him die, but God told him he had no right to be angry about the vine. Isn't it strange....Jonah was angry that God destroyed the vine, but he wanted God to destroy the city of Nineveh..........
Why is it that we want to be in God's will, and yet when God asks us to do something we don't want to do, we either want to run from it, or we try to tell God how He needs to do things. There are people in our lives that we have either been close to or have come in contact with that maybe we feel like they don't deserve God's forgiving mercy. Maybe we are angry with them because of things they have done, or the way they have treated people. So we decide they don't deserve to be shown mercy. But who are we to decide that? Jonah, while in the fish's belly, asked God to show him mercy for disobeying Him, and to give him another chance, but he didn't want God to show Nineveh mercy. God loves us all, he shows mercy when people come to Him in repentance, but sometimes, we only want Him to show mercy to those WE think deserve it.
Is there someone in your life that has hurt you or done you wrong and you feel like they deserve no mercy or forgiveness? I have had people in my life like that and I've had to ask God to forgive me for feeling that way, and now they have been added to my daily prayer list. Those people that hurt you and dispitefully use you, will stand before God one day, but in the meantime, we need to pray for them, and sometimes that's a hard thing to do. But then I'm reminded of God's mercy He had for me and how thankful I am that God never gave up on me but He showed me forgiveness and mercy. We have to forgive....we have to pray for these people. And every time you feel like you can't do it....just remember what God did for you. Good or bad...we all need forgiveness....
Jonah loved God, and I don't believe he truely wanted to just disobey God, but God told him to do something he didn't like. God told him to go to Nineveh and warn them of His judgment against their city because of their evilness. Now Jonah had grown up hating the Assyrians because of their evil deeds, so he didn't want them to be warned. He knew the kind of mercy God had and he knew if they repented, God would forgive them, and he didn't want them to have God's mercy, so he wanted God to just kill them and not give them any warning. But God told him to go and warn them. So instead of Jonah obeying God, he was angry and so he decided to just run from God. Isn't it funny how sometimes when God wants us to do something, if we don't want to do it, we actually think we can run away from God? God is everywhere, we cannot hide from Him. So Jonah decided to head for Tarshish, paid his fare, and boarded the ship. God sent a great wind and violent storm which seemed as if it would destroy the ship. In the meantime, Jonah had went down below and went to sleep. He didn't seem to care that he was trying to run from God. All the sailors aboard were terrified and began praying to their gods but no relief came. When the captain found Jonah asleep, he told him to get up and call on his God to see if he would deliver them. They decided to cast lots and try and find out who was responsible for all this, and it landed on Jonah, only because God intervened to let Jonah know he couldn't run away. Jonah told them who he was and that he served the God of heaven, the creator of everything. He told them to just throw him overboard and they would be safe. But even these men, who worshipped other gods, didn't want to just throw him to what they thought would be his death, and they tried everything else first, but realized they had to throw Jonah over, so they even ask God to forgive them for that. Looking at this, God used Jonah, even in his foolishness, to be a witness to these men. Isn't that just like God! Jonah ended up being thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish that God has placed there, and he stayed in the belly of the fish 3 days, talking to God. He asked God to show him mercy, and told God he would obey him, so God delivered him from the fish and sent him to Nineveh to warn them.
Jonah went, he warned them of God's coming wrath on their city, and then went outside the city and sat and waited to see their destruction. In the meantime, the king called for a fast, said for all to put on sackcloth and ashes, and they repented. God had mercy, forgave them, and Jonah became even more angry. He told God, " I knew before I ever came here that You would do this. I knew if they repented, you would show mercy and forgive. This is why I didn't want to do this! So God, just go ahead and kill me." God told him he had no right to be angry. Then, God created a vine to grow up over Jonah's head and give him shade and comfort and this pleased Jonah. But then, the next day, God provided a worm and it chewed the vine and caused it to wither. Jonah was angry about this and once again asked God to just let him die, but God told him he had no right to be angry about the vine. Isn't it strange....Jonah was angry that God destroyed the vine, but he wanted God to destroy the city of Nineveh..........
Why is it that we want to be in God's will, and yet when God asks us to do something we don't want to do, we either want to run from it, or we try to tell God how He needs to do things. There are people in our lives that we have either been close to or have come in contact with that maybe we feel like they don't deserve God's forgiving mercy. Maybe we are angry with them because of things they have done, or the way they have treated people. So we decide they don't deserve to be shown mercy. But who are we to decide that? Jonah, while in the fish's belly, asked God to show him mercy for disobeying Him, and to give him another chance, but he didn't want God to show Nineveh mercy. God loves us all, he shows mercy when people come to Him in repentance, but sometimes, we only want Him to show mercy to those WE think deserve it.
Is there someone in your life that has hurt you or done you wrong and you feel like they deserve no mercy or forgiveness? I have had people in my life like that and I've had to ask God to forgive me for feeling that way, and now they have been added to my daily prayer list. Those people that hurt you and dispitefully use you, will stand before God one day, but in the meantime, we need to pray for them, and sometimes that's a hard thing to do. But then I'm reminded of God's mercy He had for me and how thankful I am that God never gave up on me but He showed me forgiveness and mercy. We have to forgive....we have to pray for these people. And every time you feel like you can't do it....just remember what God did for you. Good or bad...we all need forgiveness....
"Why is it that we want to be in God's will, and yet when God asks us to do something we don't want to do, we either want to run from it, or we try to tell God how He needs to do things?"
ReplyDeleteRenee, I'm quoting you. It's complicated. We all want to do whatever we like even as we rely on others to help us out. We do not want to be led; we want to lead. As such, we will always find ourselves in conflict with our feelings and with others. What is great is that we can always negotiate or say sorry when things are not going as planned or as we would like them to.
I like the story of Jonah.
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