So here I am, sitting in my hotel room in Sioux Falls, SD debating on going to sleep (big day of driving tomorrow) or writing this. I guess the obvious answer is writing this…
I’m a prayer. Some may call me a “prayer warrior.” You might know the type; one that prays about everything and I mean everything. My prayers can last quite some time. Today, I prayed on my way to South Dakota. I think I probably talked to God for at least 45-minutes, maybe more. It’s something I do every morning on my way to work. Unfortunately, my drive to work is generally only a few minutes long, five minutes tops. The important thing when talking with God isn’t necessarily talking (speaking) to Him (although still important). Probably the most important thing to do when having a conversation with God is listening. When talking with God, one of the most challenging things to do is actually listen to what He has to say. I’m not too sure why this is but I can tell you from personal experience, it’s probably because He is going to tell us something we don’t want to hear or something that will challenge us in a way we don’t think we’re prepared to handle.
As human beings, we are sinners. There’s no getting around that – tough! We (sometimes, not always) want to do what WE want to do instead of what God wants us to do. A perfect example of this is the past nine years of my life – my call to ministry.
Around the year 2000, I began to feel a tug on my heart that God wanted me to do something. I wasn’t too sure what it was, but it didn’t really matter because I wasn’t paying attention – or wasn’t listening to God. The call to ministry was persistent and so was my ability to continue to ignore God. What to do, what to do? I (keyword is “I”) didn’t want to get into ministry. I had a good thing going. My wife and I were stationed in England. We were enjoying seeing all that the country had to offer. I didn’t want some “feeling” to screw that up. I didn’t want to have to go to school to learn theological stuff! Fast forward to 2007 – yeah, seven years later!
I thought God would just forget about this call to ministry and I’d be off the hook. Well, I was wrong – what else is new, right? So, I stopped going to Troy University and started going to Moody Bible Institute (to learn that theological stuff). I have learned a lot in school; a lot of things that I can apply to my daily life. More importantly, however, I learned that our God is a patient and forgiving God, which finally brings me to my point!
During my quiet time today, I read Jonah. If you get a chance, take a look at that book of the Bible; it’s only four chapters. Jonah was a prophet who basically ignored God’s “call” and even fled to get away from Him. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach the Gospel to those people. Jonah, however, didn’t want anything to do with that because he hated those people – hence him ignoring God and fleeing. Well, God was patient. He waited for Jonah to figure it out. Unfortunately for Jonah, he didn’t figure it out until he was in a fish’s stomach (you’ve really got to read the book). To make a short story shorter, Jonah prayed and finally listened to God. When times were good for Jonah, he didn’t seem to need God. But when he was in a bad situation (I think being in a fish’s stomach would qualify as being in a bad situation), he needed God. Let us not get into that same situation.
We need God every day. We need to talk to God every day. We cannot forget to actually listen to God’s response. So, what’s the morale of the story of Jonah? Even though Jonah ignored and fled God’s call to preach the Gospel to the people of Nineveh, God waited patiently and showed Jonah mercy. So here’s the morale of the story of Jonah:
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past or whether or not you’ve listened to God’s call on your life, He WILL forgive you – all you have to do is ask. If you’ve been ignoring something that you feel is from God, stop and listen. It took me seven years and I pray it doesn’t take you that long to listen!
Look forward to an Easter note in the next couple days! Until then, may our Lord and Savior be your guiding light!
God Bless,
Jeremy
I’m a prayer. Some may call me a “prayer warrior.” You might know the type; one that prays about everything and I mean everything. My prayers can last quite some time. Today, I prayed on my way to South Dakota. I think I probably talked to God for at least 45-minutes, maybe more. It’s something I do every morning on my way to work. Unfortunately, my drive to work is generally only a few minutes long, five minutes tops. The important thing when talking with God isn’t necessarily talking (speaking) to Him (although still important). Probably the most important thing to do when having a conversation with God is listening. When talking with God, one of the most challenging things to do is actually listen to what He has to say. I’m not too sure why this is but I can tell you from personal experience, it’s probably because He is going to tell us something we don’t want to hear or something that will challenge us in a way we don’t think we’re prepared to handle.
As human beings, we are sinners. There’s no getting around that – tough! We (sometimes, not always) want to do what WE want to do instead of what God wants us to do. A perfect example of this is the past nine years of my life – my call to ministry.
Around the year 2000, I began to feel a tug on my heart that God wanted me to do something. I wasn’t too sure what it was, but it didn’t really matter because I wasn’t paying attention – or wasn’t listening to God. The call to ministry was persistent and so was my ability to continue to ignore God. What to do, what to do? I (keyword is “I”) didn’t want to get into ministry. I had a good thing going. My wife and I were stationed in England. We were enjoying seeing all that the country had to offer. I didn’t want some “feeling” to screw that up. I didn’t want to have to go to school to learn theological stuff! Fast forward to 2007 – yeah, seven years later!
I thought God would just forget about this call to ministry and I’d be off the hook. Well, I was wrong – what else is new, right? So, I stopped going to Troy University and started going to Moody Bible Institute (to learn that theological stuff). I have learned a lot in school; a lot of things that I can apply to my daily life. More importantly, however, I learned that our God is a patient and forgiving God, which finally brings me to my point!
During my quiet time today, I read Jonah. If you get a chance, take a look at that book of the Bible; it’s only four chapters. Jonah was a prophet who basically ignored God’s “call” and even fled to get away from Him. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach the Gospel to those people. Jonah, however, didn’t want anything to do with that because he hated those people – hence him ignoring God and fleeing. Well, God was patient. He waited for Jonah to figure it out. Unfortunately for Jonah, he didn’t figure it out until he was in a fish’s stomach (you’ve really got to read the book). To make a short story shorter, Jonah prayed and finally listened to God. When times were good for Jonah, he didn’t seem to need God. But when he was in a bad situation (I think being in a fish’s stomach would qualify as being in a bad situation), he needed God. Let us not get into that same situation.
We need God every day. We need to talk to God every day. We cannot forget to actually listen to God’s response. So, what’s the morale of the story of Jonah? Even though Jonah ignored and fled God’s call to preach the Gospel to the people of Nineveh, God waited patiently and showed Jonah mercy. So here’s the morale of the story of Jonah:
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past or whether or not you’ve listened to God’s call on your life, He WILL forgive you – all you have to do is ask. If you’ve been ignoring something that you feel is from God, stop and listen. It took me seven years and I pray it doesn’t take you that long to listen!
Look forward to an Easter note in the next couple days! Until then, may our Lord and Savior be your guiding light!
God Bless,
Jeremy