What a beautiful creation to my sight! This nature reminds me of His mighty hands as I spend time with Him every time I'm at Charis School where Dana is studying.
Today, I'm focussing on the Book of Jonah.
In Chapter 1, it talks about the Lord's commission & Jonah's disobedience.
Jonah 1: 1 The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai, 2 "Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention." 3 Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord.
The Consequence?
The Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea so that the ship, where Jonah was, was threatened to break up!
Jonah was thrown into the deep sea.
In chapter 2, we could read in the story that God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah and bring him to the land after he repented of his disobedience to the Lord.
Jonah 2: 1 (1:17) The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish 2 and said, "I called out to the Lord from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out for help, and you heard my prayer. 3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current engulfed me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.
Jonah confessed to the Lord.
The Comfort?
The Lord used the huge fish to swallow Jonah and commanded it to discharge Jonah to the dry land.
In the next chapter, the Lord commanded Jonah once more to go to Nineveh.
Jonah 3: 1 The Lord said to Jonah a second time, 2 "Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the Lord had said.
Jonah obeyed. The people of Nineveh believed in God.
The Compassion?
God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them.
And yet in chapter 4, Jonah was displeased with what the Lord did to the people of Nineveh.
Jonah 4: 1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, "Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! - because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. 3 So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!"
God taught Jonah another lesson.
The Conclusion?
God is concerned of every person of Nineveh to repent and turn their ways to God.
"Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!" -Jonah 4:11
This made me reflect some more. Yes, God has called me to a personal relationship with Him by putting my trust in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior (John 1:12). That was His primary calling for me. He also called me to help fulfill His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). I'm not exempted like Jonah who was commissioned by Him to go to Nineveh.
At times, and many times, I also disobey God in His commandments that brought consequences in my life and those people around me. I praise God for His loving, compassionate heart to forgive his people no matter what. Jonah wasn't able to appreciate it but dwelt on his disappointments and anger.
God was dealing with Jonah's heart to have compassion and love.
This is the prayer of my heart as well. How about you?
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