This month reading in the book of Jonah and coincidentally, we just witnessed the eclipse on April 8th which went through two towns called Nineveh and a territory called little Egypt, among others. Jesus tells us in Luke 11:29 – “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” So let’s look at Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Pastor Patrick Miller of Nations Choice Church mentioned something that stuck with me. “God’s will was for Jonah to go to Nineveh. Much like Jonah, we too are guilty of sabotaging our own assignment. What the verse reveals to us, is that there is a COST to step outside the will of God!”
Boom! Think about that for a minute. The times we did things or made decisions outside the will of God, we paid the cost of it. We know the wages of sin is death. Sin is a cost we cannot pay the ransom for. Only Jesus can and did with His own blood on the cross. If you have lived long enough, in your own life or in the lives of loved ones, you have witnessed the cost of being outside the will of God. For example, I have also seen others blame God for things that have happened in their life and not take any responsibility for their own actions or decisions. We all are guilty of it! Saints, please take note of where you are at right now and ask God, “Please forgive me for not doing your will. Please place me back on the paths of righteousness (Proverbs 4:11 “I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.”). Please lead me to the steps you ordered for me (Psalms 37:23 “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives”). Forgive my sins and forgive my unbelief. Please strengthen me and give me faith to do Your will. In Jesus name Amen.
If you have tried unsuccessfully to get out of certain situations, will you give God the opportunity to help you and change the course of your life? Will you give up fear and instead have faith the size of a pinhead (aka mustard seed – Matt 17:20) and allow God to move those mountains in your life? He is waiting for you, looking for you from afar to run to you and kiss and embrace you (Luke 15:20), leaving the 99 to seek and rescue the one—YOU (Matt 18:12) and all it takes is for you to say, yes. I can promise you that you won’t regret it. What do you have to lose if not your own life? Let God, who created you, love you and help you today. Quit running to Tarshish and go to Nineveh and see what God can and will do in and through you. I think you are worth it. God thinks you are so worth it and gave His life for yours. I look forward to hearing about your story and please share at: dk332243@hotmail.com. Love you!
