Reading: Jonah 4
My Verse: "Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me,
for it is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:3).
This little chapter is so very telling! It speaks to me of how often we despair and decide we no longer want to live! We think it would be better to just die. Sometimes we do this lightly and other times we are truly serious. But You, LORD God are ever so loving and patient with us. You show this when Jonah complains because the Ninevites repented and turned to You.
"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
And he prayed to the LORD and said,
O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?
That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish;
for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from disaster" (4:1,2).
I am amazed here at how You deal with Jonah, LORD God. First You try comfort by providing him some shade. That does not change his attitude so you bring him physical misery. This does not work with him either. You are like a loving parent, trying to bring Jonah around. And this is what You do with me, with all of us. Always You want us to come to You, that is Your end goal.
Even though Jonah was so very reluctant, You used him to bring the sailors to You and then the whole city of the Nineties! This speaks to me of how You will use us for Your purposes regardless if we participate fully or not. Jonah could have made this a most wonderful experience for himself. But he did not and yet You used what he meant for bad and turned it into good because You wanted the sailors and the Ninevites to be saved from their lost, unhappy lives.
That is a reassuring thought - that You, LORD God, want always that which is best for me. I do not understand everything as You do. I am so very limited and yet I want to control things, often fighting against You in the process! Help me, LORD God, to lean into You when I do not understand the whys of various events; when I feel at a loss as to how to handle a situation; when I want so very much for something to go a certain way and it doesn't! I need to hang onto Proverbs 3:5-6.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on our own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I do not want to be like Jonah and wallow in self pity because things did not go as I thought they should. Thank You for being so loving and patient with us!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me,
for it is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:3).
This little chapter is so very telling! It speaks to me of how often we despair and decide we no longer want to live! We think it would be better to just die. Sometimes we do this lightly and other times we are truly serious. But You, LORD God are ever so loving and patient with us. You show this when Jonah complains because the Ninevites repented and turned to You.
"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
And he prayed to the LORD and said,
O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?
That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish;
for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from disaster" (4:1,2).
I am amazed here at how You deal with Jonah, LORD God. First You try comfort by providing him some shade. That does not change his attitude so you bring him physical misery. This does not work with him either. You are like a loving parent, trying to bring Jonah around. And this is what You do with me, with all of us. Always You want us to come to You, that is Your end goal.
Even though Jonah was so very reluctant, You used him to bring the sailors to You and then the whole city of the Nineties! This speaks to me of how You will use us for Your purposes regardless if we participate fully or not. Jonah could have made this a most wonderful experience for himself. But he did not and yet You used what he meant for bad and turned it into good because You wanted the sailors and the Ninevites to be saved from their lost, unhappy lives.
That is a reassuring thought - that You, LORD God, want always that which is best for me. I do not understand everything as You do. I am so very limited and yet I want to control things, often fighting against You in the process! Help me, LORD God, to lean into You when I do not understand the whys of various events; when I feel at a loss as to how to handle a situation; when I want so very much for something to go a certain way and it doesn't! I need to hang onto Proverbs 3:5-6.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on our own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I do not want to be like Jonah and wallow in self pity because things did not go as I thought they should. Thank You for being so loving and patient with us!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
No comments:
Post a Comment