This Sunday I'm teaching from Jonah 2 and the study has had a significant impact on me. Almost the whole chapter is made up of Jonah's prayer to God from the "belly of the whale". It's actually a beautiful psalm/prayer of someone who is the middle of suffering the consequences of their idolatry and turning in desperation to the only place they know to turn...God. In many ways Jonah is the anti-missional prophet. I've learned a lot from his story, and unfortunately see a lot of myself in it as well.
Jonah's prayer is not for deliverance from trials, suffering, or persecution, but from the consequences of his poor decisions and his running from God. Something this passage has made painfully clear to me is I am NOT like God! God's pursuit of Jonah in the midst of his open rebellion is humbling and convicting. I would've given up, but God is relentless in His pursuit of Jonah and limitless in His grace once He has him. As I transfer that into my own life I'm humbled by God's reach through time and circumstance to rescue me; and convicted of my judgement of who else God should extend His mercy to. Callousness, prejudice, self-righteousness, and hate are ugly in all their forms...even if they wearing a W.W.J.D. bracelet.
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