JONAH’S JOURNEY: THE TURN

REFERENCE
Jonah 2:1-10

God is always working within and around our clumsiness  and accomplishing His purposes through them. Just like He did with Jonah. God kept him and preserved him in the belly of the fish in spite of his disobedience. Right in the midst of our struggle, our pain and discomfort God preserves and keeps us for the assignment because He also doesn’t want to lose a servant. 

There comes a time in your life that you must:

1. Look at the events around you and hear God speak to you through the tough times; when we disobey God we invite His chastisement. God allows trials and tough times to discipline us and prepare us for the place He is leading us.
2. Tell ourselves enough of the excuses. As soon as we realize that our struggles are God’s chastisement, we must yield at once or we only worsen our predicament as in the case of Jonah who was thrown into the sea and then was swallowed by a fish! 
3. Turn and throw ourselves into God’s hands. Bite the bullet. Obey! Take the first step and say a prayer of repentance like Jonah and cry out for help. Make a move towards answering the call. The sorrow that disobedience brings comes to test us and then gives us a second chance to repent and obey. 

Finally, obedience calls for action. Put in the sickle to rescue people. Get the work started and know that God is going to back you up. Let what you learnt and experienced while ‘running from God,’ become a source of validation for your mission – the fact that Jonah survived the belly of the fish became a sign to the people he preached to, it made his message more believable.

SCRIPTURE PHOTO

ADDITIONAL STUDY
2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 119:60 (NIV), & Acts 3:19 

PRAYER
Dear Father, I see where I have erred, show me the lessons in my trials and lead me to repentance. Let me find my way again. My desire is to do your bidding. I say yes Lord! Amen.