Jonah 4:4-11

Jonah 4:4-11 

English Standard Version

  I like being comfortable.  It's nice.  Do I let myself get uncomfortable enough when I think about the sufferings of others?  Or do I keep that far enough away so that it doesn't impinge upon my comfort?

  When Jesus tells us that we should love others just as we love ourselves, it's a bit of an impossible command.  Can we really love others with the same focus and passion that we save for ourselves?  We treat ourselves when we can... can we treat others with the same excitement?

  Here, Jonah resents God's deliverance of the people of Nineveh.  He sets up camp outside of town, and God sends a plant for some shade.  When God sends a worm to devour the plant and Jonah loses his shade, he is furious, far more furious than he ever was at the thought of the people of Nineveh perishing.  He greatly favored his own comfort above the safety of others.

  So what do we do with this story?  In many ways, it's a wake up call for us.  Are we open to considering how much energy and resources we spend on ourselves, and how we might give up some of that comfort to serve others?  Do we recognize the suffering of others?  Do we love them enough?  Do we love ourselves too much?

Jonah 3:10-4:3

Jonah 3:10-4:3 

English Standard Version 

  How committed are you to your enemies that if God were to deliver them, would you be amazed at what God has done or upset that your enemies were delivered?  

  Jonah makes it clear what side of the fence he is on.  

  How do you pray for your enemies?  

Jonah 3:6-9

Jonah 3:6-9 

English Standard Version 

  I've watched enough Mel Brooks movies that whenever I read about a king, I can't help but think about the portrayal in The History of the World.  In summary, it's good to be the king.  Kings take liberties and have privileges.  Kings are rarely restrained.  Kings live at a different level than regular people.

  So what an incredible act here by the king in Nineveh.  He takes off his robe and sits in ashes, praying for God's mercy on behalf of his people.  He knows that it is not a guaranty of deliverance, but he hopes that if all people, including himself, repent from evil ways and violence, then perhaps God may relent.  

  The king could've ordered everyone else to repent.  Instead, he joined them in the midst of it.

  May we never grow too proud to resist humbling ourselves and acknowledging our wrongdoing.  May we be wise in looking for the fault within ourselves more eagerly than trying to find the fault in others.  May we be willing to repent and invite others to join us in this.  We don't control God, but it is wise to humble ourselves before God.

Jonah 3:4-5

Jonah 3:4-5 

English Standard Version 

  Jonah had a story to tell.  Imagine if Jonah had sat down and told his life story, revealing the journey he went on to get to Nineveh and the amazing ways God intervened in his life to bring him to that place.  It would've been a very compelling story.  I imagine the people of Nineveh would've been amazed.

  But they didn't hear that story.  They didn't hear about all that God had done in Jonah's life.  They received a simple sermon, but that was enough.  The Holy Spirit did an amazing thing, and that was enough.

  See, it doesn't depend on us.  We feel so unworthy much of the time, or we're nervous that we'll say or do the wrong thing.  Jonah shows us here that there doesn't need to be perfection.  God needed Jonah to show up and be a vessel for the message of repentance, and God did the rest.

  In the same way, God needs you to show up in times and places, and God will use you in the lives of people around you.

Psalm 98:4-9

Psalm 98:4-9 

English Standard Version 

  Plenty of movies have been made personifying animals.  Charlotte's Web and The Secret Life of Pets show us animals with personalities of their own.  

  What the Psalms reveal is that all of creation is made to worship God.  When we worship God, we aren't starting something unique -- we're joining a chorus comprised not only of the animals but also of nature itself.  Even the trees and the seas and the hills and the valleys lift up their voices to praise God.  When we praise God, we are aligning ourselves with the world around us, all of which is using the only language it has -- that of praise.

Jonah 3:1-3

Jonah 3:1-3

English Standard Version 

  Jonah didn't ask a lot of questions the second time that God told him to go to Nineveh.  He had learned his lesson well.  God didn't take the chance to remind Jonah, either.  I would've definitely said something along the lines of 'Seriously, Jonah.  To Nineveh.  Or else we'll do something worse than the fish...'

  Sometimes, God says no to us.  Sometimes, God needs us to learn a lesson.  But I believe that God continues to call us -- sometimes to the original plan, sometimes to a new one.  Hopefully, we learn from the times that God says no, and we are willing to follow God, having a richer sense of faith based on our prior experiences.  May we recognize that much of life is a learning opportunity, even the hardships, and that the character we gain along the way is a chance to share our struggles and experiences with others and point to God's glory throughout.

Jonah 2:10

Jonah 2:10 

English Standard Version 

  I read a quote once that said with enough information, all actions make sense.  

  Without context, this would be viewed as terrible.  

  Viewed as what Jonah had been through, this was great news -- he was saved from a terrible experience and suddenly had hope for what the next step of his life looked like.  

  When we see friends of loved ones going through something, let us remember that context matters.  So often, we don't know what else is going on in a person's life.  We react to their actions, but there's often so much else going on in the background.  May we learn to ask wise questions, and to listen patiently, that we may hear the full story.  Our lives are interwoven with one another, so the more we learn, the better we are able to serve one another.

Jonah 2:5-9

Jonah 2:5-9 

English Standard Version 

  When I golf, it's really frustrating to lose balls that are just off the fairway.  It seems like I ought to be able to find them, because I saw right about where they landed, but they disappeared right in plain sight.  Other golf balls, well... I hit them and immediately give up hope of ever finding them.  They're very, very lost.

  In the parable of the lost sheep, it never says how lost the sheep is.  It could've been just off the trail, but I somehow doubt it.  I get the impression that this was a sheep that was very lost, perhaps wandering the wrong way on the wrong trail for a long time, far from home.

  But it doesn't say how lost the sheep was because it doesn't matter.  The good shepherd goes to find it, no matter what.

  In the same way, God is teaching us through Jonah that there is no such place that is too far from God, no situation that is too far gone.  We can all be redeemed.

Jonah 2:1-4

Jonah 2:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever driven through an area with bad cell phone service?  Even in the midst of it, you likely keep dialing, right?  You know there's a signal around there somewhere, so you don't give up, even though you doubt that your call will go through.  You keep dialing and dialing and dialing, and eventually it connects.

  That's what I think of when I read Jonah's prayer.  Jonah is in the midst of distress, in a fish sent by God to swallow him in the depths, but God still hears Jonah's cry.  Jonah keeps praying, despite his challenging circumstances.  It would be easy to think that God wouldn't hear Jonah, but Jonah still prays.  He's in despair, and the logical thing to do is pray, so he prays.  And Jonah's prayer is heard, just as our prayers are heard, even in the midst of our distress, even in challenging circumstances.  The waves and billows pass over us, and it feels as though we are driven from God's sight, and yet we can have hope because God hears our prayers, even in distress.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 

English Standard Version 

  Do you ever go to the grocery store, buy a bunch of things, and then realize when you get home that you didn't buy anything for dinner?  I do this all the time, and it's so frustrating -- I was in the midst of so many great options, but missed the obvious reason for going to the store.

  When I read the 23rd Psalm, I often get hung up on the first verse. When the Lord is our Shepherd, we don't want for anything.  We find complete satisfaction in God.  That's the picture of what heaven will be like, and it's available to us now, but so often, we're putting so many other things in the cart that we completely miss that God will supply our needs.  

  Granted, sometimes we need to let God make us lie down in pastures.  We need to allow God to lead us to still waters.  We're often so busy trying to achieve these on our own that we miss what God wants to do for us.  

Jonah 1:17

Jonah 1:17 

English Standard Version 

  Ever think that things cannot get worse?  

  The first chapter of Jonah has gone as poorly as possible for Jonah.  He ran directly away from God's call, and then the boat was caught up in a storm that was sent for him.  Resigned to perishing in the storm, instead Jonah offers himself up as a sacrifice and is cast overboard.  Thinking this is likely the end, Jonah has surely given up by now... and instead he gets swallowed up by a giant fish.  

  If you're Jonah, each step is surely one more away from hope, right?

  God id still at work here.  God hasn't given up on Jonah.  God hasn't given up on God's people.  It's hard to believe, and surely from Jonah's perspective, you'd think this would be the end of the story... but God is only getting started.

  May we have the courage to believe the same when we see things going sideways in our own lives. 

Jonah 1:14-16

Jonah 1:14-16 

English Standard Version 

  Jonah's most effective evangelism may be the fact that the very sailors who throw Jonah overboard then immediately turn around and offer a sacrifice to God and make promises.  Jonah is able to convince them of God's power through sheer ineptitude.  It's not how one draws it up, but it seems to work here in the beginning of the story -- the sailors learn through Jonah as an example of what not to do, but still, God is able to use Jonah. 

  Jonah is certainly not an example we want to follow.  Jonah fails, time and time again, but the Word of the Lord will not be denied.  It reaches through Jonah's failure and touches the hearts of those interacting with Jonah.  It's a reminder to us all of God's ability to use any effort, no matter how small, to demonstrate the love and power of God.

Psalm 99:1-5

Psalm 99:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  God is pure holiness, and dwells completely separate from humanity.  

  It's easy to forget this -- we make God so common and end up forgetting how majestic God is.  It reminds me a little of the display of the crown jewels in the Tower of London.  They're so valuable and more heavily guarded than any other display that I can remember, and there is a moving floor so that the crowd doesn't clog things up by lingering near certain exhibits.  It's very clear from the moment that you draw near that you're viewing something valuable.  No one wanders in by mistake and doesn't realize that there is something special about what you are about to see.  

  In the same way, God sits in God's throne, and should be praised as holy and perfect, completely other than we are.  It is only through pure grace that God chooses to reveal himself to us.  We are to exalt God, and to fail to do so is pure folly.  May we choose to worship each and every day.