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Today's post is a step further in our series on the book of Jonah. If you've been following this you'll admit that this is a very instructive story.
Jonah 2:7-10 (KJV)
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Take Home Lessons:
1. Submit to God Willingly
It is far better to submit to God willingly and to humble ourselves under His mighty hand than it is for us to get Him to make us submit.
We're not stronger than He is. So, why resist God and rebel against Him?
Jonah submitted the hard way. As it were, he had to be broken before he submitted, surrendered and aligned himself with God.
Some people prefer to learn the hard way just because they're too stubborn. Such things are unnecessary.
Your time and efforts are wasted in the process of going against God's directives.
All you hustle for comes down to nothing and you later still have to return to what God said.
So, get rid of your pride and submit to the ways of God. Accept His plan for you and cooperate with Him.
2. Never Give up When You can Pray
Imagine for a moment what would have happened if Jonah gave up in the fish's belly and didn't cry out to God for help. He would have forsaken the mercy that was available to him in God and died for nothing.
Yes, he had screwed up and was in a mess but Jonah refused to major on the lying vanities that surrounded him. Everything around told him he was doomed for death and hell but he decided to believe that somehow help was available in God.
Some people die the way they do because they give up in the midst of the challenge.
Oh, how it blesses my heart to know that mercy is ALWAYS available.
A miraculous turn around is ALWAYS available. Don't die cheaply when you don't have to. Don't die before your time. No, refuse to.
No matter what you face and no matter what faces you, don't give up and don't give in.
Refuse to be wasted.
Even if the deep mess you're in is a result of what you did or a result of what you failed to do, mercy is still available.
If you magnify the complexity of the situation, if you focus on how bad it is and on how terribly you went wrong, you'll be forsaking the mercy that's still available to you.
Mercy is still available!
3. What Proves Expectation is Prayer
Prayer is a demonstration of faith. I can tell if you've lost faith or not by whether or not you're praying.
Those who are expecting God to move in their lives, pray, and they keep praying until they see their expectations.
Hopeful people are prayerful people.
A praying man is an expectant man. Our attitude to praying shows our degree of hope or our degree of hopelessness.
Those who don't pray are not expecting much from God.