Recently my church did a sermon series on the book of Jonah. Now, if you were like me, you would think that book was about a man who got swallowed by a fish. This book is problematic for a lot of people because the idea of Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish and living in it for 3 days seems far fetched and causes disbelief to arise. Here's my stance on that particular issue. I would not want to worship a limited God. I worship a God who is capable of all things. He used Moses who had a stutter to guide the Hebrews out of captivity. He made the dead live again. He allowed an elderly barren woman to give birth. He Himself was murdered an rose again. He is capable of anything- included making a fish swallow a man and allowing him to live. But, what I learned is that the fact that Jonah was swallowed by a giant fish is really not the most significant thing that happened in this book.
(Here's a link to the entire book so you can read it for yourself. It's pretty short. Book of Jonah)
So here's a little background on Jonah. In 1st and 2nd Kings the Bible tells us the Jonah became a well known prophet who told King Jeroboam to strengthen the walls around his kingdom because the Assyrians were coming. The Assyrians were a brutal war-like people who could bring massive destruction to their enemies, so the fact that Jeroboam listened to Jonah and strengthen the city walls and the people were saved was a miracle straight from the hand of God and Jonah became well known.
But Jonah ran away from God. In the Book of Jonah, God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, Assyria and call the Assyrians out. Understandably Jonah was scared. It would be like an American being called to go to downtown Baghdad to call out against terrorists. The problem was, Jonah did not trust God enough to go. He lost his faith in the God who had already used him to do great things. And so Jonah ran. He didn't just run spiritually and emotionally but he physically got in a boat and sailed to the furthest place in the known world at the time, Tarshish. Jonah physically ran away from God.
But God sent an incredible storm on the sea making Jonah's travel a nightmare. The storm was threatening to sink the ship and Jonah knew he was to blame so he told the other sailors to throw him overboard and then Jonah was swallowed by the fish. Now, this is important. God was pursuing Jonah. God was using punishment to bring Jonah back to Him. God could have let Jonah go and appointed a new prophet with a more willing heart. But He didn't. God didn't give up on Jonah. God loved Jonah so much that He did not want to see Jonah fall away. God used this trial in Jonah's life to bring Jonah closer to the LORD. That is what the Book of Jonah is about.
During Jonah's time in the fish, he grew closer to the Lord and had a change of heart. God commanded Jonah again to go to Nineveh and call out against the Assyrians. And this time Jonah obeyed. I can only imagine how terrified Jonah must have felt. Jonah went into the city and called out that Nineveh would be overthrown 40 days. And by God's grace, the Assyrians began to repent and worship the Lord. Even the king humbled himself and repented for his country's evil. God had mercy on Nineveh and did not destroy the city.
This is a testimony to how our calling as Christians is not easy but it is essential, because God uses Christians to change the world. In today's culture it is often uncomfortable to open up to other people about faith. But we are not called to live an easy life, we are called to live a God glorifying life. We must love each other in the same way Christ loves us- to pursue them at all costs to help them know the love of the Lord. When we run from our calling, God does not give up on us, but he will lovingly do what He has to in order to bring us back and that can be painful but God loves us so much that He will not allow us to be lost. Our calling is to spread the love and sacrifice of Christ so that others will repent of their sins and know that Christ paid the price we could not. Christ's perfect life was sacrificed so that we can be with out merciful Lord forever. How beautiful it is that God has pursued us to the extent that He was happy to sacrifice his perfect Son so that vile sinners could be His for all eternity!
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41: 9-11
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
“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 turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
Jonah 2: 1-9
Love and blessings,
Ada Grey
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About two months ago I was hanging out with two friends (one male, one female). It was late and we had spent the afternoon swimming and laying by the pool. As the hour grew later and later, our conversation grew more serious. We were discussing our jobs and comparing experiences. We all work with children in high poverty areas and we were talking about some of the things we had seen that shocked and saddened us. That's when my guy friend said something that I will never forget.
For you to understand the conversation it is important for me to give you a little background on the three of us so you get where we are coming from. As y'all probably know by now I grew up in a rural small town in the South. My family struggled financially at times growing up but we always had food on the table and everything we needed. My parents are happily married and I was always surrounded by loving family. My other friend in this conversation was a young woman who grew up in midtown Atlanta. She came from a middle class family but she saw the poverty of the inner city every day and her parents had gone through a brutal divorce while she was quite young. My guy friend grew up in a farm town and had a financially stable though rough emotionally family situation. Right out of college he went to live in South East Asia for two years doing humanitarian work. As you can tell, we all came from different places with quite different experiences... But we all noticed something that only my guy friend was brave enough to address.
So here we were-- sitting on the back deck after dinner, sitting by the pool just talking. As we were talking about the kids we worked with and the things we saw my guy friend looked up and with a crack in his voice said the words I will never forget
How do you handle looking into the eyes of those kids who are living in situations we can't imagine and keep yourself from wondering "Why me? Why did I get so blessed and you get so little?"
Boom. Truth.
Most of the kids we work with come from single parent homes (if even that sometimes)and most of them are on some form of government assistance. A lot of those kids come from long histories of abuse, neglect and abandonment. We spend all day with those kids, trying to help them in any way we can but at the end of the day, we go home in our own cars to our own homes to cook dinner for our families. The kids we work with do not have those same blessings.
Maybe it hit us so hard because we see it with kids every day, but lets get real... those kids grow up and the cycle continues.
My friends words have been echoing in my mind and I've been wrestling with them... trying to come up with some sort of answer. I know I do not deserve my blessings... that's what makes them blessings... but why me? Does God just love me more than that starving child in Cambodia or that man dying of a easily curable disease in Uganda or that woman sold into a human trafficking ring in South America? OF COURSE NOT. So why is it that I live comfortably in a nice home and have multiple college degrees and can cook whatever I want for dinner and not worry if I won't be able to eat tomorrow.
WHY?
Why wouldn't God bless those children in the same way He has blessed me? Why wouldn't He make sure everyone had enough to eat or grew up in a safe and loving home? Why?
I've been thinking about this and I have come to the conclusion that I don't know. However, I can't help but think that God is making a point.
Hear me out.
You might be thinking "What kind of point could God possibly be making by allowing such a disparity to exist in the world."
The answer is: A very important one.
In fact, I'd argue that aside for salvation itself that understanding this point is the most important thing we could do.
So what is the point?
Here's what I think: From day 1 God has called us to be like Him.
So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-28
Then Christ came and told us to be like Him.
- Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:22-24
- Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:26-27
So what does it mean to be like Christ? Well, after reading about Christ's life in the Gospels one thing is abundantly clear: Christ spent almost all of His time with the neglected, sick, downtrodden, poor and hated. His closest friend, Mary Magdalene, was most likely a prostitute. Jesus hung out with lepers. He lived a life of complete service to others and continued that even in death by dying the most horrendous death I can think of so we vile sinners could be reconciled with God once again. So to sum it up, Jesus was a servant to the rejected who spent His time healing others and reconciling us to God so that our souls would have peace.
And we are called to be like Christ... No pressure...
So do we take our calling seriously? Nope. Not even close.
Sure, we'll conduct canned food drives at Christmas and Thanksgiving and we'll write a $10.00 check to a medical research organization but is that really living like Christ? Is that really serving others? I think in our culture we view serving others as a derogatory idea. Most people aren't super pumped to work for someone else's benefit. We have the mindset that we should just take care of ourselves and not worry about everyone else. But that is not Christ-like.
Please do not feel like I am on some high horse, looking down at you, criticizing you. I'm throwing myself under the bus. I've been one to give twenty bucks to charity and then pat myself on the back for being such a good Samaritan. I have failed at being Christ-like.
So back to the original question: Why have I been so blessed and others have so little?
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.- Luke 12:48
I think we have been given our blessings to help us fulfill our calling of being Christ-like. We have been given resources that make it possible for us to serve others the way Christ would. The sad part is that we don't use them that way. Service is an active thing, not a passive idea. We don't like the idea of having to make ourselves humble and uncomfortable in order to serve someone else... But Christ did.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
John 13:13-15
Christ humbly served the broken, downtrodden, vile, sick and hungry. Yet we don't want to make ourselves uncomfortable...
Our calling to live like Christ may but may not mean that we move to a foreign country and feed the hungry. But lets get real... if you want to find the broken and downtrodden we just need to look out of our back doors. We can serve here. We don't but we can.
So here is what I think. We all need to make ourselves uncomfortable. We need to be Christ-like. We have been blessed in specific ways that others have not and God does not want us to hoard our blessings to ourselves. He gave us those blessings to help us carry out our calling and we have failed. So lets stop saying "Why me? Why did I get so blessed and you get so little?" and start saying "Here, let me help you carry that burden and make it lighter."
-Ada Grey
Life is hard. We all know this. Suffering is a part of our lives, failure is real, disappointment is a part of our journey, loss is inevitable. We live in a world where people we love get cancer and are taken from us, freak accidents happen, young people are killed all too young, people we love betray us and hate runs rampant. I have met people who have suffered beyond what I can even imagine. And if you have not suffered in some way, I promise you that you will. That doesn't paint a pretty picture but it is our reality. Our first reaction when we are confronted with trial and suffering is to cry out "WHY?!" Sometimes, we lash out at God because we think He has let us down. But has He?
The answer is NO, He hasn't. The truth is that we live in a fallen world. Since the Garden of Eden, where humans first fell into sin, we have lived in a corrupt world where suffering is a reality. It is because of that fallen-ness that trials and suffering exists. God has promised us that we will suffer. There are some out there that will tell you that if you are a good little boy or girl, God will have favor on you and you'll never suffer. That "health-wealth and prosperity teaching" is false. Suffering is a part of this broken world and we will all encounter it.
But the good news is that we don't suffer alone. As children of Christ, we have the comfort of knowing our Father is with us, to see us through the pain of this world and to comfort us in the next world in Heaven. God will not forsake His children. He will not abandon us.
My favorite parable from the Bible is the parable of the lost sheep. The parable is as fallows:
See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.- Matthew 18:10-14
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.- Luke 15:1-7
The reason I love the imagery of the lost sheep is that first, it shows how much God loves us. He loves us each so much that He will (and did with Christ) sacrifice everything to bring us to Him. More than once I have been that one sheep wandering away from the fold of God. It gives me comfort knowing that God will never stop pursuing me. Second, this parable shows that God rejoices more in one sinner coming to Jesus than in 99 "righteous" people. How wonderful it is that we have a Lord who will leave the 99 to search for 1. I say all of this so that you will know that you are never alone. God is seeking you. Find your comfort and rest in knowing that Jesus has suffered more than we ever could to ensure that one day suffering will only be a memory.
- Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
- James 1:1-5
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:16-19
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
2 Corinthians 1:5-7
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.- John 16:33
with all my love,
Ada Grey
Lately Ada and I have been talking about learning to live within God's will and accepting His timing. In this life I have learned that as humans we are expecting instant gratification. We want what we want, and once we decide what that "want" is, we want it NOW. Wouldn't that be cool if we could just snap our fingers and get whatever it is we wish for?------ Or maybe not... What if getting everything easily made us less appreciative? Less willing to wait for THE GOOD THINGS, THE IMPORTANT THINGS, THE PRECIOUS THINGS.
I have struggled in recent years with understanding God's perfect timing. God has perfect timing for everything. Perfect timing for your job, perfect timing for your marriage, perfect timing for procreation. Sometimes we question Him. WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME WAIT? WHY? We get mad at God...We get angry. We've waited enough. We are sick of waiting. We just want what we think can make us happy.
In reality, He is the only thing that can ever make us completely and wholely happy within our souls. Our true happiness from other things only comes THROUGH Him. He is the ultimate giver of everything that is truly good and joyful!
I have married friends who have suffered multiple miscarriages, and after the miscarriages suffered through several months of not being able to get pregnant. Once they were finally pregnant again, my friend felt as if she could not enjoy the pregnancy. She was fearful every moment for what might happen. She had been traumatized by the loss of previous babies that she wanted so badly. Of course she was terrified. What woman wouldn't be? In conversation with her one day she spoke candidly about this fear. This was an almost debilitating fear that her pregnancy was too good to be true. She feared that something she might do could harm the baby. She feared that God wouldn't let her dreams come to fruition... that He would take this baby too, this baby that she had longed for.
When she spoke of these fears, I felt called to speak. I rarely have "moments", but this was a "moment" for me. I felt like someone else was speaking through me. Like HE was speaking through me.
I spoke about my journey to understanding God's perfect timing and my struggle with it. I have been down several times in life, and felt like I had been kicked at my lowest and couldn't go on, and questioned WHY ME? WHAT DID I DO? God, why cant you just give me what I want?
When this happens, I have learned to think of someone I know personally or someone in the Bible who went through something far worse than the storm I am going through. For me, that really hits home; It puts into perspective that God has a perfect plan for my life, and even though I may not understand that plan, it is HIS and it is perfect. I should be still and trust HIM. He makes us face our troubles for a reason. We may NEVER understand our path, but it is our path regardless, and one day we will get our reward in the kingdom of heaven for trusting in His will over our wants.
All of those times that we are fearful and feel sorry for ourselves Satan wants us to falter and question why God would put us on this path or let us go through something so bad. Stop questioning your path! Do not let Satan and fear rob you of the happiness that Jesus has for you! Satan wants you to stop believing that God is there with you every step of the way. Satan wants you to believe that Jesus will never make you happy. Do not fall victim to this fear that Satan puts on you.
This brought me to scripture that I have read a hundred times.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace not evil, and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
The context is especially important for this verse. The Lord doesn't give us what we want, but what is necessary for doing His work. Trust that your trials are an opportunity to become closer to Him and that you can ultimately share your testimony and lead others to Christ. Once you think about it, isn't leading others to Jesus one of the most magnificent thing you could ever do? So stop worrying about those other things you want in life.
You must enjoy the day. Enjoy every day that is given to you. They are each a precious gift to do His works! Enjoy the blessings that God has in store for you and use them to bless others. Trust that God will give us what we are supposed to have, when we are supposed to have it, but that it is his timing that is followed, not our own!
For my friends, I pray for their journey. The journey that God has created for them. May they learn to live within God's will, wherever it may take them. Learning to trust and live within His will is arguably one of the hardest things we as humans can ever acomplish. And may we all learn to wait for THE GOOD THINGS, THE IMPORTANT THINGS, THE PRECIOUS THINGS. Sometimes waiting and trusting God's will makes the precious things that much sweeter, and makes the story of our journey a testimony and a blessing for others.
-Caroline
Is that a deal breaker?
I think one of the biggest sins that we face today is the sin of idolatry. Now you may read that and think "Wait, I'm not bowing down to a golden statue in my living room. What in the sam hill are you talking about?" Idols are anything that takes us away from God. Idols can be things like our jobs and our relationships or they can be our desires. My preacher gave a sermon on this subject a while back. He asked the congregation to think of the thing we loved the most or the thing we wanted the most- whatever takes up the majority of our thoughts. For some it may have been their school work and others it may have been someone in their life. Still others may have thought about the things they were working towards like finding the right job or finding a spouse. After everyone had taken a moment to get a clear picture of what they spent the most time in a day thinking about or working towards the preacher said this "Imagine you woke up in the morning and got a call that whatever it is you love or want was taken away for ever or that you would never achieve it. Would that affect how you feel about God? If losing something you love or not getting what you want pulls you away from God, that is your idol."
Now stop and think about that. That can be a tough pill to swallow. There is no guarantee that the people we love will be there tomorrow. We may never become CEO of the company. We may never be able to have that child we've always dreamed of. Maybe we won't have the relationship we always thought we'd have.
Is God's love enough?
I'm not saying that having desires or goals is a bad thing. In fact, I think they are necessary. But they should not take God's place in our hearts. They should not come first. In the end, whether or not we build that dream house or we make it through medical school should not alter our love for Christ. We have a calling. And that is to show and share the Gospel to others. We were put on this earth to show and tell others that as humans we are vilely sinful and therefore unworthy to be in God's presence but God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that we deserve and live the perfect life we are incapable of so that as believers we may spend eternity with God. No matter what happens to us here on earth, we should be joyful that we have been redeemed and adopted as sons and daughters of the King. God will give us what we need to fullfill our mission. That's where trust comes in. Live each day knowing you are loved beyond all imagining and be joyful.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Galatians 2:20
- Galatians 2:20
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
- Romans 12: 9-16
- Romans 12: 9-16
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.
- Psalm 28:7
- Psalm 28:7
Ada Grey
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