When we think of the Book of the Jonah, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘FISH.’ But if we look back on the 4 chapters of that book, we will see that the word ‘FISH’ was only mentioned 3 times. The Book of Jonah teaches us that we can NEVER run away from God’s plans for our lives. It teaches us that OBEDIENCE is better than sacrifice. It shows us that the reward of saying YES is greater than the reward of saying no. It teaches us that God CARES for us and that He is a God of a ‘SECOND CHANCE.’
In Chapter one of the Book of Jonah, God called unto Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh to preach to the people because they were wicked. Instead of complying with God’s command, he tried to run away from God by boarding a ship to Tarshish. God hurled a powerful storm over the sea that threatened to break the ship apart. As soon as the sailors realized that Jonah was the problem, they threw him out of the ship into the raging sea, and the storm subsided. The Lord then sent a fish to swallow Jonah to save him from drowning. While in the belly of the fish, in chapter two, Jonah prayed to God and repented of his sins, and God ordered the fish to spit him out after 3 days.
If Jonah had just said YES to God in chapter one, there wouldn’t be a need for chapters two, three, and four. But because he said no, he had to go through the drama of almost drowning and then having to end up in the belly of a fish. How many times have we tried to run away from God’s plan only to realize that His plan for us is far better than what we have planned for ourselves? We are reminded in Proverbs 19:21 that only the Lord’s purpose will prevail if we try to make plans by ourselves. The painful truth is, the more we run away from God’s assignment for our lives, the more we hinder our blessings. As it was with Jonah, so it is with some of us; we prolong our own problems. When God calls us to do something, we either delay or act like it wasn’t God speaking to us. I’m thankful He is a patient God because I don’t know what would happen to me if He isn’t. If God weren’t caring and patient enough with Jonah, He would have asked the fish to kill Jonah while in the fish’s belly. He gave Jonah a second chance. There have been times when I failed to listen to God and each time I regretted it. The reason some of us have been unable to move forward in life is that we aren’t obeying the voice of the Lord.
Like Moses in Exodus 4:10, we sometimes use our ‘weakness’ as an excuse to not do God’s will. When God ordered Moses to go and deliver the people of Israel from the hands of Pharoah, he tried to excuse himself by saying, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” (NLT) If you don’t overcome Your weaknesses and fear, you may not be able to succeed in life. Don’t use your excuse to not do what God says you can do. Philippians 4:19 says YOU CAN do all things through Him (Christ) who gives you the strength. God knows all of our weaknesses. His power is made perfect in our weakness. Feed your strength and starve your weakness!
Blazer_ H&M
Shirt_ Michael Kors
Pants_ H&M
Shoe_ Johnston & Murphy
*** The Bowtie worn is a Brioni necktie that I converted to a bow.
