Wallowing in the Seaweed

-
When God whispers something to the heart that’s difficult to hear, what is a Christian to do? Life doesn't always present us with simple, clear cut decisions, and often,  making decisions that honor God means going against the tide of the world. How do we even begin to explain the mysterious workings of the Spirit in us to those who cannot begin to comprehend when we struggle to understand ourselves? 

I think of Jonah, who struggled greatly with what God asked him to do. He didn't like the task God set for him, so he tried to run from it, which of course wasn't terribly successful. Sometimes, I don't know if I am hearing God clearly, and I've often wondered what it must have been like to know that God was speaking directly to someone. Really, though, doesn't He speak to us  through His spirit who lives in us if we belong to Him?  Jonah heard directly and still questioned God’s judgment in sending him. That really didn't change the end result—it just wrapped Jonah up in seaweed in the smelly, salty belly of a great fish. When he emerged three days and three nights later, it was only because God heard his prayer for help and had compassion on him. However, Jonah’s attitude still reeked somewhat of self-righteousness as he spoke of his sacrifice to God in contrast to those who worshipped idols. He was “resurrected” from death back to the same stinky world he had been trying to run away from.

When we give in to God’s command but do so with reluctant spirits, our hearts are still far from Him as Jonah’s story goes on to reveal. After God commanded him a second time to go to Nineveh, Jonah went, but when God had mercy on the city because those in it repented in sackcloth and ashes, Jonah became angry. Somehow, in his mind, Jonah’s decision to repent was different from theirs.

So the story goes in our lives. We hear from God, doubt what he is saying to us, do our thing in spite of Him, and then when we are called to pay the price for our rebellion, we cry out to God to rescue us. It is a vicious pattern that is all wrapped up in selfishness and pride. What new thing could God do in us if we would just willingly submit to His calling the first time? If we let Him resurrect us into His spirit instead of our flesh, I am pretty sure the results would look a lot different. Proverbs 21:2 tells us that “every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts” (NASB). Lord, help me learn to hear you clearly, and act in faith when you call me to do your will over my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have concerns or questions, I will do my best to answer them privately. I will publish comments at my discretion publicly if they glorify God.

Popular posts from this blog

An Uncertain Affinity (2 Cor. 4:7-11; Gen. 3:16)

-
Image
Today in my devotion time, I came across a word that led me to another word. Can I say that this is my usual, lifelong problem in reading dictionary entries . . . I have a hard time stopping.  It’s a real problem. ☺ The word connected to the word I was looking up about the tabernacle was skeuos . In the Greek, this word carries the meaning “of uncertain affinity; a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus (literal or figurative [specifically a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband]):--goods, sail, stuff, vessel.” I got caught immediately in the first part: “uncertain affinity.”  Uncertain means “not able to be relied on; not known or definite.” Affinity means “a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something.” Putting these two words together is something of an oxymoron, which in the Greek literally means “pointedly foolish” because of its seeming contradiction. How in the world can you have an affinity for something you don’t know? How...
Read more

Letting Go Is Hard (Hebrews 12:1-2)

-
I sit among boxes piling a bit higher each day as I pack my life up once again. I say again, but in the grander scheme of things I haven’t moved that often in my 33 years of married life, and since the kids were born, I have only moved three times until now. We will be renting for a while until we can find a place to land, so I am purging things much more robustly than I have ever done with any other move. Sorting through 33 years (plus some things I had before marrying) has been utterly distracting, difficult to accomplish, and slow to finish. Homes need things, and things need a home, but I am finding I have held on to far too much over the years. Letting go is hard. Stuff.  Too much stuff. Merriam-Webster defines stuff as “materials, supplies, or equipment used in various activities: such as personal property.” By this definition, we own what we need to DO something. I have done much the last five years while I have not been in the classroom daily. Pottery was the first thing ...
Read more

Under Construction (All of the Bible . . .)

-
Do you remember the logic  🧩 (or riddles or analogies or challenges—not sure what to call the kind of word puzzle I mean) of childhood past where one was required to look at a grouping of words and figure out based on their arrangement what they meant together? Something like this one below: CONSTRUCTION soul The correct way to solve it would be soul under construction . If you notice, construction is weighty, and the soul is small under the burden of change. Maybe it has seemed quiet to you lately from this quarter. It is true that I have not written in a while, but it has not been because my soul has been absent of either noise or the quiet contemplation of time spent in the Word. I have been wrestling with myself, not with New Year's resolutions but with what I know about God, with the disconnect I sometimes feel between living out truth versus what my flesh wants in all its ugliness. There is the other side of wrestling, however, when it goes on too long without acti...
Read more