For Thought and Meditation - Thursday, February 09

[Pine Baron]

Good morning all. A follow up on yesterday's message. Like I said, there is so much in Jonah's story. have a safe and blessed day.

Where Revival Starts
by Greg Laurie on Feb 9, 2023

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights
—Jonah 1:17

Tarshish is about as far away from Nineveh as you can get. Yet that’s where Jonah went when God told him to go to the city of Nineveh and preach. He boarded a boat going in the opposite direction.

As a result, God sent a storm that was so bad, it even alarmed the seasoned sailors. They tried to figure out why this storm had come and realized the culprit was a passenger named Jonah. They brought him up on deck and asked him what was going on.

Jonah told them he was an Israelite and served the Lord God of Israel. This was the miracle-working God, the same God who parted the Red Sea, drowned the entire Egyptian army, and sent supernatural food from Heaven. So they said to Jonah, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?” (Jonah 1:11 NJKV).

Jonah told them that if they threw him overboard, the storm would stop. They kept trying to row to land with no success, so eventually they threw him overboard. Then a great fish swallowed Jonah.

Now, was this God’s way of getting even? Was He saying, “All right, Jonah. You messed up. It’s payback time”? That is how some people see God. But God doesn’t deal with people that way, especially His own children.

This wasn’t about getting even. This was about disciplining one of His own kids. Because God loves us, He will discipline us when we go astray. God’s discipline is preparation for a future task. His discipline tells us that He has something more for us to do. And if you are one of God’s kids, He will discipline you.

God was preparing Jonah for his greatest work yet, and He revived and recommissioned Jonah.

In the same way, revival starts with you. It starts with me. And nothing can happen through us until it has first happened to us.

[square butte]

Amen & Thanks for the Devotional this morning - God Bless

[USMC87]

Amen, discipline is well deserved.

[Wayne Smith]

Couple of things to note 1) Jonah was a 'prophet of God' - already established and experienced. 2) He tried to run from God because he did not want Nineva to repent! He knew God well enough to know that God would forgive. This did not change, even after they did repent. 3) I see Jonah as a bitter old man who wanted things his way, not God's.

I see myself in Jonah.

[Pine Baron]

Couple of things to note 1) Jonah was a 'prophet of God' - already established and experienced. 2) He tried to run from God because he did not want Nineva to repent! He knew God well enough to know that God would forgive. This did not change, even after they did repent. 3) I see Jonah as a bitter old man who wanted things his way, not God's.

I see myself in Jonah.

The astounding thing to me, is it took 3 days in the belly of the fish for Jonah to finally come around...3 days...that's epic stubborn!