A Life Worthy

Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah…and Jonah was very happy about the vine.  But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.  When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint (Jonah 4:6-8).

Wow, gee…thanks God.

Notice the repetition.  God provided…God provided…God provided.  Delightful and icky, it all came from Him.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, it time for the “Truth You Didn’t Wanna Hear Show.”  And here’s your host…Me!

Provision isn’t about what you think you want.

It’s about what God knows you need.

I know you didn’t wanna hear that…hence the name of the show.

Still…it’s true.  Again, hence the name.

Do you trust him, Beloved?  Do you believe that what he provides will be good and right, even if it looks like a worm?

I hope so.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said…?  I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.  Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”  (Jonah 2:10)

He knew the words.

He just didn’t live them.

The words Jonah uses here should be familiar—they’re used over and over again in the Scriptures to describe God’s character.  These were probably some of the first verses he memorized in Sunday School.

Yes, I know it wasn’t Sunday School at that time—just go with me.

I’ll bet that, over the years, Jonah had recited these words with joy, with hope, in supplication, applying them to himself and to his people.  He rejoiced over God’s forgiveness—for himself and his people.

But…the Ninevites?  The oppressors of his people?  Deniers of the Most High God?  The wicked ick of the world?  It was unacceptable to Jonah that God could apply the same mercy, the same compassion, the same love to them that he so often gave to Israel.

So, he knew the heart of God.

He just didn’t share it.

And you, Beloved?  And I?

Look, I’m sure you see where I’m going here, and I know you’ve got to get on with your Monday.  Just keep this in mind, as you look around your world today:

All those verses you’ve memorized…do they apply to all those people out there?

Do you share the heart of God for these people?

Do you even want to?

Something to chew on, Beloved.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened (Jonah 5:10).

They didn’t deserve it.

Mercy, I mean.

A little sackcloth and a few skipped meals hardly make up for generations of wickedness.

And yet, that is the very nature of mercy.  God was willing to see beyond their sin, to look at hearts that, however briefly, recognized their evil and turned to him.

He sent Jonah because he wanted to forgive the Ninevites.  He was looking for a reason.  I don’t know why he would want to forgive them.

But then, I don’t know why he would want to forgive me.

And forgiving me cost him ever so much more than forgiving the city of Nineveh.

You know what I mean, Beloved?

Yes, you do.

Happy Thursday.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time…Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh (Jonah 3:1-2).

A God of second chances—that’s who we serve.

After all the grief that Jonah caused, after the arrogance he showed, after the downright in-your-face disobedience he displayed toward the Lord of the Universe, God gave him a second chance.  And not just forgiveness—a second chance to serve, to be His instrument on Earth.  God could have ditched Jonah and called someone else, but he didn’t.  Because Jonah was every bit as important to God as the people he was sent to warn.

Frankly, I probably would have left him in the fish.

Call it reason #3,874 to be glad I am not God.

OK Beloved, so maybe you’ve messed up along the way.  You’ve been disobedient, you’ve had to face God’s discipline.

That does not mean that you are through.  Your mission still awaits you.  Your Lord still calls.

There’s the road, kid.

Start walking.

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (Jonah 2:8)

What do you cling to, Beloved?

Who do you trust?

God, of course!

And…?

Yeah, it’s the “And” that gets me, too.

Look, I know you don’t worship stuffed animals or pray to little porcelain figurines.

Please

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have idols.  And those idols, those things that you trust instead of trusting God, get in the way.  You see, you have to choose who you’re going to trust.  The Lord of the Universe is not big on sharing power.  If you insist that you can make it on your own, he’s likely to let you.

And you’ve been down that road before.

Your strength, your money, your intelligence, your looks, your ability to make a really great chicken sandwich—enjoy them.  Use them wisely, and glorify God with them.

But don’t cling to them.

Don’t forfeit grace.

Happy Friday, Beloved.