Here we are, facing another work week and a stream of new possibilities in the moments of each day. How will you choose to greet the new week? While you're pondering that question, here's what's happened today in our world:
After running slides for church services this morning, I kept thinking about the lesson's our pastor was hawking in the "I am Jonah" series. The last few weeks have been interesting, cerebral, yet honestly forgettable. His sermons were great (they always are), I could relate to the situation laid out in the Bible, but it didn't connect with my heart for some reason.
Today's sermon felt like it was tailor made for my life.
Jonah had been consumed and expelled by the whale at this point when he was ordered to spread the good news to the people of Nineveh so that they may repent of their wicked ways. When we met up with Jonah in Chapter 4, he was fed up and was asking for the Lord to end his life. God caused a vine to grow for shelter and then later sent a worm to devour it, causing our hero to feel quite sorry for himself and angry at his creator. God then commanded a scorching wind to bear down on Jonah, adding to the situation. Combined with God's merciful decision to spare the people of Nineveh, our subject prophet was angry and quite miserable.
Jonah 4:1-11 (Amplified Bible)
1BUT IT displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry.
2And he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray You, O Lord, is not this just what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and [when sinners turn to You and meet Your conditions] You revoke the [sentence of] evil against them.(A)
3Therefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.
4Then said the Lord, Do you do well to be angry?
5So Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and he made a booth there for himself. He sat there under it in the shade till he might see what would become of the city.
6And the Lord God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil situation. So Jonah was exceedingly glad [to have the protection] of the gourd.
7But God prepared a cutworm when the morning dawned the next day, and it smote the gourd so that it withered.
8And when the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah so that he fainted and wished in himself to die and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9And God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the loss of the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die!
10Then said the Lord, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons not [yet old enough to] know their right hand from their left, and also many cattle [not accountable for sin]?
Our pastor explained exactly how the little things can affect us, oft resulting in deep-seated depression, or a distorted view of reality. Things of the negative sort tend to come in waves, where the synergy of the events is enough to drive us over the edge, when no one single event would dictate emotional turmoil.
I am Jonah. Now, what does that mean?
1. I believe I'm supposed to serve a purpose for the kingdom of God. Sometimes, I'm quite certain I'm nowhere close to fulfilling that mission.
2. Through situations that have been trying, I often develop spiritual amnesia; forgetting the GREAT things God has done for me sometimes just days, weeks or months earlier.
3. Sometimes when things don't go my way, I become discouraged and outraged at God. As if I were the authority on all things and believe that He somehow cheated me in a situation.
Sometimes, the "vine" that's here today and gone tomorrow represents money. The "worm" sent to devour the vine could represent any number of unexpected bills and debts, It could be expenses due to the children, car, pets or anything else. When the vine disappears as quickly as it came, I find myself souring to many of life's precious moments. The "wind" could be sweeping memories of regret, feelings of helplessness or pain from times past. It's tough to say exactly what my representation of wind is, but I'd have to say intra-family tension between me and my kids (and sometimes my wife as a result) ranks in the top five. Sometimes it feels as though we're stuck in a bad situation with to hope in sight and I'm destined to keep going through the motions, never truly living. I walk around in a state of complete apathy.
Of course this isn't reality, it's just a distorted view on my part. Sure unexpected things come up, poor decisions are made, but instead of looking for God in these times, it's easier to get upset and shut down. However, this isn't God's design for our lives.
After church, my poor wife had to lie down due to a severe migraine. This didn't stop us from cooking up dinner for planned company this evening. When our guest arrived, we all gathered around the table for a good old fashioned family dinner. Spaghetti with meatballs and brownies for dessert. While my wife had to retreat to the bedroom in order to lie down again after dinner our dear friend stuck around and chatted with the kids and I. God bless her, she seemingly has a fair amount of patience with our children- and our dog. By 9:00, she had returned home and I shuttled the kids off to bed. It's soon time for me to join my wife in dreamland, before the Earth completes it's roll over act.
This week, I plan to examine all things carefully, and try to find God in all situations; both good and bad. I hope to take a step closer into His will for my life and to not become shaken by the troubles life has a habit of dishing out.
So again I ask "How will you choose to greet the new week?"
Good Night
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