October 3

October 3, 2011~

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and He answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.” ~Jonah 2:1-2, ESV

Here, Jonah had  run away from God because he didn’t want to do what God had asked him to do. It was too hard! Yet, when push came to shove, what did Jonah do? He did just what so many tend to do when we are between a rock and a hard place, cry out to God for help! God was quick to respond. 

As I contemplate God’s response, I ask myself, do I have anyone who I am reluctant to talk to? Do I dread them so much that I let the call go straight to voicemail, more often than I answer it? Do I procrastinate answering that e-mail? I really enjoy helping people, but when people are constantly putting themselves into poor situations and circumstances and never seem to get any wiser, especially when they know better, I get tired of it. 

Here is Jonah, frantically crying out to God, in his distress, for help! His distress was all a consequence of his own choices! If only he would have done what God had asked him to do, he would not have been stuck there sitting in the belly of the fish. And here is where I start getting amazed at my awesome, wonderful God! Instead of ignoring Jonah, looking the other way, or sending the message directly to voicemail, God answered right away! No, instead of ignoring Jonah’s cries for help, He heard and answered! No voicemail or prayer-email. Straight to God Himself!  

There are two lessons I see in this simple little story. One God will listen, God will answer, no matter if my distress is of my own making, or not. It doesn’t matter to Him, how bad I have messed things up, He will answer my prayer. There is never a bad time for Him, He’ll always answer my call. He never evades me. Like Jonah, will I always like the answer, no, probably not, but if I follow His leading, I know that it will lead me to perfect peace. And the very best place to be is where God wants me to be! 

Lesson number two is how do I respond to someone calling on me for help? Do I avoid them by letting the call go to voicemail more often than not? Do I procrastinate answering that e-mail? Something to think about… 

Oh, Father God, thank you for always being there for me, even when I get myself into bad situation by my own choices. Thank you for being willing to give me the answers I need, even when I don’t want to hear it. And help me to respond, like You would, when others call on me for help. 

Happiness For A Reason Reasons:

1.       Second chances.

2.       God’s patience.

3.       A God who listens.

4.       A God who always answers.

5.       Special prayer time with my neighbor Gerri, each week.