Perhaps we will never be called on to preach the Word to the city of Ninevah but we all have a choice to make today. Like Jonah, we can choose to be angry and bitter about something we had no control of…. Or we can choose to pray. And forgive. And not lose hope. Because when it comes right down to it, we’re no better than the Ninevites. We’ve ALL sinned and fallen short of what God wants for our lives. Thankfully, we all have a Lord that loves us more than we deserve. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ... Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation…”2 Peter 3 The question is, do we really love our brother enough that we would be willing to sacrifice our rights, our freedom, our comfort…if that’s what it takes to bring them to Christ? The light always shines brightest in the dark of night.
Go to comments (25)We all remember the story of Jonah and the fish...but we easily forget about Jonah and the worm.
Today I shipped orders while listening to a speech given by a man whom many believed didn’t honestly earn the privilege of being there.
And I felt...angry. And hurt. And betrayed.
I was angry that an administration bent on aborting babies, destroying families, and redefining Truth, was handed the reigns to do just that.
I felt betrayed by the censorship and deception being used to manipulate the American people, and that there was no lightning bolt revelation of truth and justice.
I stewed on this for most of the day. I held on to my righteous anger with all the zeal I could muster.
Until it hit me…
I’m just like Jonah. (Well, I haven’t spent three days in the belly of a fish. But I did have fish for dinner, so…I smell a bit like him anyway.)
And, like Jonah, deep down….I didn’t want them to be shown mercy and grace.
I just wanted justice and truth.
And I was seriously ticked that it didn’t happen that way.
More than that, I’m ashamed to admit…I would have rather seen justice served than see repentant hearts turned to Jesus...saved by Grace.
“When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. 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.”
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant 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. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
Corrie Ten Boom once spoke to a crowd about the love of God. Afterward, one of the most evil guards in the concentration camp came up to her and asked for her forgiveness, because, he said, if she could forgive him for what he had done, then surely God could forgive him too.
Perhaps we will never be called on to preach the Word to the city of Ninevah or forgive our evil captors, but we all have a choice to make today.
Yes, our beloved beautiful plant may have a worm chewing at its stalk.
Yes, our plant might wither and die.
And yes, it may get scorching hot and miserable.
But, like Jonah, we can choose to be angry and bitter about something we had no control of….
Or we can choose to pray.
And forgive.
And not lose hope.
Because when it comes right down to it, we’re no better than the Ninevites.
We’ve ALL sinned and fallen short of what God wants for our lives.
Thankfully, we all have a Lord that loves us more than we deserve.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ... Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation…”
2 Peter 3
The question is, do we really love our brother enough that we would be willing to sacrifice our rights, our freedom, our comfort…if that’s what it takes to bring them to Christ?
The light always shines brightest in the dark of night.
Jonah and the worm. And me. And you. And Ninevah.
Comments (25)
AMEN sister!! WE certainly do have a Lord that loves us much more than we deserve.
Love your words.
Thank you and keep it up!
Your desire for introspection is commendable, unusual, but so beneficial. I wish more folks would look at the world through the lens of Biblical truth. God is in control and can work through whomever he chooses to bring about His will. We are charged to prayer for all involved. We are in this together.
Well put! And I’m with you. I ache for our nation and cringe at what has happened- but I just read in Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” And later…. 9: Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker. …..So He has not been thwarted in His purposes or outfoxed by His adversaries. Our battle is not against flesh and blood , but against powers and principalities of darkness.so shine on Sister- shine on! If God is with us – who can stand against us? But if we are ever in prison together let’s do sing! And meanwhile I love the rnd of that verse where God adds ‘ “and many animals.” Yes – He even cares for the sparrows and and donkeys! Love from your fellow donkey loving, disgruntled, trying to trust Jesus with wild abandon, ragamuffin Sister in Christ Jesus, Shannon LaMonica
It breaks my heart to see the direction our country is going. Yes I would like nothing better than the far left to see the light, find God and just with their words and change for the better of our country and children. It sadden me when our president did not get the election he deserved. It bothers me for my children, grandchildren and our generations coming up. I want them to be able to worship freely, be safe in their homes and on the streets. Most of all I want them to enjoy freedom and a nation under God. Nothing would make me more happy than to see them repent, be honest, work for our country and children , not encourage and pass laws to promote behavior we all know is a sin. Yes, my family and I have been praying for our country and for God to put leaders in place that will bring us back to a nation under God.
Thank you for expressing your feelings, which many days mirror my own frustrations. However, I am reminded that God’s plans are always perfect & that He has our nation (and the whole world) in His hands. Blessings & Prayers
What a beautiful message sweet friend! It’s so hard to see so much evil about us. Something I read that made me think. In times past people repented and turned to God after they saw Christians suffer and In their suffering they still remained faithful to God and loving to others. If that be the case we are going to have to suffer through this and hopefully, prayerfully people will repent! 🙂
Last quote: The light always shines brightest in the dark of night. I pray to God that the light continues to shine during the dark times.
Thank you for your inspiring words!! We truly need them now and THIS reminder! Love you sweet friend!❤
I like your sense of humor and I appreciate what you are saying. However, I am not as good a person as you. I prayed for 8 years under Obama/BIden that it wouldn’t keep getting worse, yet daily it did. Then the light came and whenever the light moves the Devil moves against it. We have seen that as again and again the deep state has moved against conservative values and blatantly attacked Trump. Now we are where Germany was pre and during WWII with so many people willing to be tolerant for the sake of Safety. They haven’t even bothered to change the wording. They are attacking conservatives everywhere. I am angry, depressed, and despondant. I prayed for 8 years before Obama that God would protect my children and yet the courts served them up to their father to be abused with more and more time with their father. The result is 3 severely damaged adults. I know God answers prayers but not always in the way we think He should. I do wish however that it was over. Waiting for the gas is horrible and I’m tired of fighting. I have spent a huge part of my life standing against the storm and I don’t have the strength to keep going. I’m still praying for forgiveness because I can’t forgive Pedophiles and we have the most blatant pedophile as the head of our country in addition to being ownded/controlled by China. Welcome to the United Republic of China’s America.
Great message! Totally agree.
Ur message was wonderful. Forwarded to many friends. I will buy ur products for presents all year. Love my better than botox
Excellent reminder for all of us. Thank you!
Saundra, I love how you put things in perspective. I too was angry about who is going to lead our country. I just decided to leave it in God’s hands & take one day at a time. God Bless you & your family.❤
Bravo and very well said! It mirrors my sentiments perfectly. This election was so tragically marred with deceit and blatant manipulation it makes me physically ill and ashamed to be an American!
There is much evil, manipulation and outright crime being perpetrated against the American people by the American people. Large amounts of money have been paid to other countries (China, Russia, etc) in this effort of mass deceit! In turn, China, Taiwan have paid our main stream News outlets to preach one-sided propaganda and basically castrate the TRUTH!
We, as the insignificant, lowly American peasants, so to speak, have NO voice and NO rights to oppose these atrocities. So what’s left?
God IS our TRUTH! Our Lord and Savior IS the LIGHT, PROTECTION, CALM and COMFORT. Pray and pray often for your families, friends, neighbors, strangers and yes, your enemies, that they, too, might find their way home and be saved.
May you find peace and hope in this calamity we’re living and may the Lord protect and heal those in need. In Jesus’ Holy Name I ask this. Amen
Amen sister! I will try to be tolerant and pray and have faith. I will do what I can (vote) and trust the Lord after that. I will not listen, too much, to corrupted news. I will work and pray and enjoy life, as usual.
But I do need more cute farm pics in my life!!!!
This is SO good! Yesterday, as I was grieving for our nation, I told my children that we needed to pray. My 6-year old immediately asked, “Why?” And I told him that we were getting a new president. He asked what that meant and I told him it meant we were getting a new leader, so we needed to pray. Innocently, he said, “For his safety?” And it caught me up short. Because, although that is most definitely NOT what I was intending to do, he reminded me that I SHOULD do that. Because, ultimately, it’s about winning souls for Christ, not preserving my comforts. That is not to say that we should be passive or just roll over while our rights are stripped away from us, or agendas are being shoved down our throats, or morals are thrown out the window. No, we need to be righteously BOLD. But, we also need to remember what we’re here for. So, thank you for this timely reminder. God Bless!
Thank You for your words of encouragement
Good Morning! So blessed to read this. I am currently on day 20 of a 21 day fast and also battling covid 19. Yesterday was such a sad day. I was able to watch church online and hear my pastor speak about the necessity to pray for the new leaders and how we don’t change as believers. God is still in control and he would want us to continue being the salt. I also watched Behold Israel and Amir reminded us to share the gospel.
I am truly amazed to read your post, it is so true and I hope that it reaches many. I am blessed by your words this morning.
God bless you all at Dulcededonke ! Shalom!
Yolanda
AMEN!! This was just what I needed!! Thank you and Bless you!!!
Wow! Thank you for the reminder; I, too, am frustrated and thankful for folks like you.
Thank you for such an inspiring post. I too have experienced the same feelings but you are right! We must pray for all because I’m positive that the bugle will ring loud & clear soon!!
Thank you for your post. We are not in control, God is, and his ways are perfect. Fear and anger are not going to solve things but prayer and witnessing to those who are far away from Him is what we are called to do. God bless you and your family!!!
This is EXACTLY what I needed today. I just finished writing my prayer asking God to help me focus on the REAL enemy and not be distracted with my anger. To keep my focus on Him and His purpose for me. This blog was what was used as encouragement and reassurance that I was on the right path. Wish I was closer to OK because I would give you a hug. Thank you!
As always, wonderfully thought provoking and true.
Love the message! God’s love and never ending mercies for all of us!