“God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get. (Jonah 1:1-3, The Message)
Jonah didn’t like the word God gave to him. He rejected His assignment. Like Adam and Eve, he thought he could hide from God. But God knew exactly where he was and what was in the man’s heart.
All too often, we find ourselves in a similar situation. We skip over certain verses that make us uncomfortable. We try to ignore God’s leading or the Spirit’s prompting. But discipleship isn’t about cherry-picking verses, embracing those verses that promise blessings while ignoring those Scriptures that challenge or question our personal beliefs.
I remember my father telling us kids, “You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it.” My dad knew those vegetables and lentils on our plates were good and essential for our nutrition and physical growth. If we’d only eaten the ‘good’ stuff, our bodies would have lacked nutrients essential to our development.
In the same way, God bids us listen to and obey His word because He knows what is good and proper for our ultimate good and spiritual growth.
Prayer: Today, I choose to obey Your word, Lord, even those verses that sometimes make me uncomfortable. Bend my will so it aligns with yours in all things. Amen.
Thought: “Life is ten percent what happens to us and ninety percent how we respond to it.” – Chuck Swindoll
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