Tag: God answers

Fish Food

Jonah 1-4

We all probably know the highlights of the story. Jonah was commanded to go to Nineveh, but thought he could hide from God if he fled to Tarshish. After a storm bombards their ship, Jonah confesses what he has done to his shipmates. They aren’t even followers of God and can’t believe what he has done. Jonah tells them to toss him overboard and eventually, they do and he is swallowed by a great fish sent from God. Jonah repents and is vomited out of the fish in Nineveh. He spreads God’s word and the people of Nineveh listen and repent. Jonah gets mad that God showed Nineveh compassion, gets angry about his plant dying, and begs God for death.

Today, I want to focus on Jonah’s time in the sea and in the whale. As a child, I remember being introduced to the story of Jonah. Thanks to Disney’s “Pinocchio” and its depiction of the inside of the whale, I envisioned Jonah in a vast yet watery cavern of a stomach. I thought it sounded a little fun, honestly. In my mind, he had light, could eat seafood, and just needed to hang out for a few days before his live submarine dropped him off at Nineveh. However, Jonah’s experience was nothing like Pinocchio’s.

In his prayer from the belly of the fish, he recounts his dismay as the seaweed wrapped around his head as he sank to the sea floor. He details being on the brink of death and how, in those seemingly last moments, he desperately calls out to God for help.

We can further imagine what it might have been like for Jonah, thanks to a passage from “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. In Chapter 9 a character named Father Maple reads this hymn for the crew:

“The ribs and terrors in the whale,

Arched over me a dismal gloom,

While all God’s sun-lit waves rolled by,

And lift me deepening down to doom…..

…In black distress I called my God,

When I could scarce believe him mine,

He bowed his ear to my complaints

No more the whale did me confine….

…I give the glory to my God,

His all the mercy and the power.”

I don’t know what Jonah’s life was like before this event, but I have to imagine that this is the lowest and darkest event that he had experienced. And yet, he cried out to God and God answered. Even though Jonah made a calculated decision to run away from God, God still answered when Jonah called out. Jonah could never truly outrun God or be too damaged for God to care for. God didn’t just listen to Jonah’s cries, he saved him, redeemed him, and entrusted him to still go speak to the people of Nineveh.

In our fast-paced, chaotic lives it can be easy for us to make a calculated decision to run from God and try to hide. Inevitably, we will have a time or times in our lives when we hit rock bottom and feel as though we can see the mountains of the deep rising around us, suffocating us. But don’t lose hope! Just as God still loved Jonah no matter how far he ran, God still loves us. God can break the chains that hold us down in our distress. He offers love, freedom, forgiveness, and a purpose.

If you are feeling low or see someone around you who is struggling, it’s time to cry out to God. God loves you and has a plan for you. Let him comfort you and free you from whatever might be holding you back.

-Lacy Dunn

Reflection:

• Is there anything weighing you down that you feel like you can’t escape? If so, take some time to give your burden to God. Also, talk to a Godly friend or mentor who can help you so you aren’t alone.

• What do you think Jonah looked like and smelled like after arriving in Nineveh via whale vomit? Imagine what you might do if you saw Jonah arrive in your town/city like this. 

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Opening My Eyes and His Book

psalm 119 18

FREE THEME WEEK –

Today I do not have an amazing, earth-shattering verse to tell you about that will change your world.

Rather, I want to tell you that when you faithfully seek God, and His wisdom, truth, and love in His Scriptures, He responds in what may feel like earth-shattering ways that will change your world.

Let me give an example from just a few weeks ago, with a little background information first . . .

I have been working on reading 5 Psalms a day (as suggested by Pastor Jeff Fletcher in the Grow16BibleReading devotion a few months ago – https://grow16biblereading.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/just-two-choices/).  I have always been impressed with Pastor Jeff’s spiritual wisdom and figured if this was one of his techniques for growing, then I wanted to try it, too.  He explained, “Whatever day of the month you are on, read that (numbered Psalm), and then add 30 and keep going up by 30.  That way, in 30 days you will read all 150 psalms. On the first day of the month read Psalm 1, 31, 61,91 and 121, the next day read Psalm 2,32,62,92,122.”   Jeff spreads his Psalms out through the day so that his whole day is immersed in Psalms.  I like that idea, but am currently just working on being faithful with all 5 in the morning, along with the Proverb of the day and the Grow16 devotion chapter.

But, this particular morning I was already into the nitty-gritty of my day – my cute daycare kids had been dropped off in my home daycare, my husband and kids were off to their scheduled activities, and I was . . . clipping coupons and finding the best grocery shopping deals.  If you’ve ever tried it – you know it takes some time.  While I have always been frugal with my finances, my couponing goes in spurts – because of the time it takes.  Currently, I am trying to make a dream trip to Israel a reality so I am in super-saver mode which for me includes getting out the scissors and Sunday ads and digital coupons.    As I was snipping and clipping I was wondering if it was all worth it – should I actually be spending my time doing other (probably, more valuable) things?

WAIT – STOP!   All of a sudden I remembered – what about my morning Bible reading – how did that get missed?  Of course there was more valuable things to be doing than saving $1 on 2 boxes of General Mills cereal!  I put my scissors down and curled up in my favorite Bible reading corner of the couch.  I love having digital versions of God’s Word readily available at my fingertips and able to quickly do online searches to find just what verse or topic I am seeking out.  But, for daily Bible reading I am a huge fan of the comfortable, marked-up, leathery Word of God in my lap.

So, with a bit of guilt for not doing it sooner, I was flipping pages to begin with my Psalms of the day. I can not explain why my eyes FIRST took in one single verse from Proverbs 13 – it wasn’t even the 13th of the month.  Besides, I always start with the Psalms first.  The verse was not highlighted or at the top of the page.  There was nothing that should have pulled my attention to this Proverb.  Nothing – But God.  My eyes read: “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” Proverbs 13:11  WHAT!   I read it again and again -now with tears in my eyes.  I had JUST been questioning if my time couponing was of any value at all – and God sends me “accidentally” to this verse.  God sure got my attention – because He deserves it – so much more often than I willingly give it.   God told me – “Make sure you don’t steal your coupons – but go ahead and save your money little by little – it’s okay if it takes some time.”  Little by Little.

That morning I received God’s reassurance and promise – FIRST – keep FIRST things FIRST.  Come to Him and His Word FIRST – with every little need and worry and question.  And He is Big Enough to provide all we need.  Faithfully seek Him daily.

This was written thousands of years ago – for me at that moment in time.  I wonder how many others through the ages have found THAT specific verse at just the right time for them.  And then, to consider, that is just ONE tiny snippet of the truths stored up for each of us that seeks Him.

That verse – Proverbs 13:11 – probably isn’t THE verse you just needed to hear this morning.  I don’t know what your questions and needs are today.  But God does.  God directed me to the answer I was seeking that morning.  And, he has – and will – do it again and again.  The answer may not always come quite so immediately – but remain faithful – it will come – because He is faithful.

Our God is Big and Mighty and He lives and breathes in His Word.  Open it up and take in God.  He is not a foreign, distant God.  He has the answers and He wants to share them when His children come humbly and faithfully before Him.   He is waiting for me and you to draw near to Him.

Sit down and open up His Book – so He can reveal Himself in marvelous ways.

Marcia Railton

 

Waiting – Patiently

psalm 37 7a

Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

Waiting, especially for a response to prayer, is always hard. How often have you asked God for guidance, only to be met with silence?  It is hard to be patient when others around you are succeeding. How do you respond to the times the answer to prayer is “Wait”? God will always help those who call on Him, sometimes He is waiting for us to be obedient.

Often when we are unsure of the direction God has for us, we seek help from other Christian friends.

Reflect on a time an answer to prayer was “Wait.” How did you respond? Do you have a trusted friend or mentor to help you be patient as you wait for God’s direction? Take some time to pray for them. Work on being patient as you wait on the Lord.

-Susan Johnson