Monday, August 15, 2022

Time-Out! – Nah, I’m Good

August 15, 2022/ in Week 2, Bible Study

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When you get to be my age, you start wondering, “Why am I so hard-headed when it comes to making good choices?” Even when I was younger, before I had given my life to Christ, there was a small voice in my mind saying, “This isn’t going to end well!”

I imagine Jonah was hearing that voice when he chose to head to Tarshish instead of doing what God told him to do. I bet he got on that boat and hid in the bottom–hoping God couldn’t see him but knowing he could. I would even go so far as to say Jonah wasn’t the least bit surprised when the boat almost capsized because he was on it. Jonah may have even hoped to escape God’s wrath by death as he was being thrown overboard. But I don’t imagine he was very shocked to find himself in the stinking, disgusting belly of a fish. Talk about a time-out!

When we find ourselves in a mess entirely of our own making, God will often, in his mercy, put us in a time-out—not as a punishment but to give us a chance to pause and think about what we are doing. God will grow us privately, so he can use us purposefully. The storm can be a wake-up call to get you where God wants you to go. The wreckage from the storm is usually a time for reflection and regrouping.

This is what we find Jonah doing, and at least in this, he can be a model for us. In times such as these, we find that God is using our circumstances to bring a redemptive or restorative change. As you begin reading Jonah 2, you can feel his angst.

Jonah 2:2-3

2 … “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble and he answered me. … 3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. …”

But as the chapter progresses, Jonah noticeably has a change of heart.

Jonah 2:7, 9

7 “As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. 9 … For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

It’s when we arrive at this place of desperation that God does his best work in us. It may be in this place that we finally realize there is nowhere we can go that God cannot reach us. Resting in his salvation, we know that God corrects us, but he does not condemn us. In his eternal economy, God rescues us on purpose for a purpose.

Ultimately, life is best when we trust God first. Clearly, God was not done with Jonah, nor is he done with us. We can trust him to guide and direct us no matter how far we have run from him. And we can trust him to use our stories to encourage others who are in the same boat … or fish!

Questions:

Do you trust God first, or do you only remember him once your boat has capsized and you’ve been swallowed up?

Do you have a “belly of the whale” story? Can you see how God rescued you? Are you willing to tell others about it?

Next Steps:

In every situation, trust God first. Share the good and bad with God through daily prayer. Join us for 21 Days of Prayer by texting “21days” to 419-419-0707.

If you have a “belly of the whale” story, write it out and trim it down to 2 minutes. Practice telling it to some friends, then tell it to some strangers. Celebrate what God has done in your life with them!

21 days of Prayer

Day 8 Focus – Courage to Authentically Share and Care (Colossians 1:11-12)

Dear God, there is no greater purpose for today than to share your story. But we confess how often we miss opportunities to share, or even turn away from a moment when we could care for another. Help us set aside anything that would distract us or take away from this great truth – it’s because you first did all of this for us that we now have the privilege to do it for you. When we are united with you, Father, our hearts grow. Give us the courage to believe what you say and then act on it. Amen.

Today’s Parent Prayer