"When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered You, LORD,
and my prayer rose to You,
to Your holy temple.
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to You.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."
(Jonah 2:7-9)
I read the book of Jonah tonight. It's amazing to me how the Lord uses times in our lives, times of blatant disobedience, to set us straight and to turn our eyes toward Him. When God calls Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah instead runs away from the Lord and heads to Tarshish (Jonah 1:2-3). Get this: Jonah knowingly disobeyed. Like, God actually said: "Go to the great city of Nineveh ..." (Jonah 1:2), and Jonah ran the other direction. And not only did Jonah know in his heart of hearts that he was clearly disobeying the Lord - He actually told the other sailors on the boat to Tarshish he was running from God (Jonah 1:10).
Personally, I can relate to this. I felt God's call on my life at a very young age, and ran away myself. Periods of disobedience followed, and in my heart I think I always knew I was running away from the Lord's call on my life. Like Jonah, I still very much had a relationship with my God - I was just ignoring His direction and taking my own road, which I thought was much more sensible. Sensible it was not; Sovereign however, it was.
God's plan is always sovereign. Just as he used Jonah's disobedience to win the hearts of unbelievers (Jonah 1:16), God can use our mistakes to bring glory to Himself. Is this an excuse to mess up? Absolutely not. The pain of disobedience is excruciating to our spirits. It is however proof that our God has plans - plans of His own, to bring attention and glory to Himself, so that the world may know the Saving Power of Christ.
After I was done running, my God caught up with me. He gently pulled me unto Himself and asked me: "What were you running from?" "I was afraid," I responded. "Afraid of what?" He asked. "Afraid I would fail You, Lord. I am unworthy of Your calling." "Yes, indeed you are unworthy. But I, my child, I Am Worthy. And that's all that matters."
The chase was over. He won. Praise the Lord for that.
Do not forfeit the grace that God has set aside just for you, based on previous mistakes. Instead, be overflowed with thanksgiving and sacrifice to Your God for His sovereign plan. Vow to follow His direction from this point on, not looking back, except to recall all the great things He has done on your behalf, even amidst your frailties.
Thank You Jesus - for Your grace, Your Sovereignty, Your Salvation.
I remembered You, LORD,
and my prayer rose to You,
to Your holy temple.
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to You.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."
(Jonah 2:7-9)
I read the book of Jonah tonight. It's amazing to me how the Lord uses times in our lives, times of blatant disobedience, to set us straight and to turn our eyes toward Him. When God calls Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah instead runs away from the Lord and heads to Tarshish (Jonah 1:2-3). Get this: Jonah knowingly disobeyed. Like, God actually said: "Go to the great city of Nineveh ..." (Jonah 1:2), and Jonah ran the other direction. And not only did Jonah know in his heart of hearts that he was clearly disobeying the Lord - He actually told the other sailors on the boat to Tarshish he was running from God (Jonah 1:10).
Personally, I can relate to this. I felt God's call on my life at a very young age, and ran away myself. Periods of disobedience followed, and in my heart I think I always knew I was running away from the Lord's call on my life. Like Jonah, I still very much had a relationship with my God - I was just ignoring His direction and taking my own road, which I thought was much more sensible. Sensible it was not; Sovereign however, it was.
God's plan is always sovereign. Just as he used Jonah's disobedience to win the hearts of unbelievers (Jonah 1:16), God can use our mistakes to bring glory to Himself. Is this an excuse to mess up? Absolutely not. The pain of disobedience is excruciating to our spirits. It is however proof that our God has plans - plans of His own, to bring attention and glory to Himself, so that the world may know the Saving Power of Christ.
After I was done running, my God caught up with me. He gently pulled me unto Himself and asked me: "What were you running from?" "I was afraid," I responded. "Afraid of what?" He asked. "Afraid I would fail You, Lord. I am unworthy of Your calling." "Yes, indeed you are unworthy. But I, my child, I Am Worthy. And that's all that matters."
The chase was over. He won. Praise the Lord for that.
Do not forfeit the grace that God has set aside just for you, based on previous mistakes. Instead, be overflowed with thanksgiving and sacrifice to Your God for His sovereign plan. Vow to follow His direction from this point on, not looking back, except to recall all the great things He has done on your behalf, even amidst your frailties.
Thank You Jesus - for Your grace, Your Sovereignty, Your Salvation.
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