Friday, March 21, 2014

She Reads Truth Jonah 1&2

Hey guys! If you are wondering what this post is all about you can find out at www.shereadstruth.com. We've been studying the book of Jonah and boy have I learned a lot! Not just about Jonah but myself! You may remember the story from Sunday school back in the day and think "wasn't that the guy who was swallowed by a whale?". That's the guy. Now to me his story is so much more than that. He was called on by God to preach to the Ninevites, but instead he fled to hide from God. He didn't think the Ninevites deserved God's mercy (Nineveh was an evil place). Wow. I know I have been in Jonah's shoes. Not that I have ever been called to preach in Nineveh, but how many times has God called on me to do something and I hid? Sometimes doing the right thing is hard and it can be easy to chicken out. Back to the story, Jonah ran away to Tarnish. He found a ship and claimed aboard. The Lord sent a violent storm and all the sailors were afraid and cried out to their own gods and threw cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter. Jonah was below deck sleeping when the captain went to him and said "how can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will notice and we will not perish." The sailors asked Jonah what he had done. They then asked what they should do to him to make the seas calm again. "Pick me up and throw me into the sea" was his response. When they threw him into the sea the water became calm. This made the men greatly fear The Lord and they offered a sacrifice to The Lord and made vows to him. But The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Boy, who saw that one coming? Not me. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. While inside the fish he prayed. "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple." The Lord then commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. That's not where the story ends but, man! I am just left speechless really. Wouldn't it have been easier to just do what The Lord asked of him? But then again when have I disobeyed The Lord and in return made life harder? And who do I turn to? God. He is forgiving and loves us unconditionally. He's there to catch us when we fall, no matter how many times we need him to. She Reads Truth is a devotional site for women and it as changed the way I read my bible. I encourage you to check it out! 

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