Welcome, dear friends, to our column “Daily word for spiritual strength”! I believe you receive encouragement and inspiration reading these daily messages.Yesterday we examined the story about prophet Jonas and how God taught Jonah to rely on God alone instead of any other sources. We also mentioned that if we follow Jesus in our life and let Him change us, all circumstances in our life will serve for good to us.Let´s have a closer look at the life of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah loved God and he was zealous and goodly man, he was a prophet of the Almighty God. God saw his heart and He desired to change it. That´s why God sent Jonah to preach to Nineveh. Though, the prophet refused to go to that city, just like many of us he didn´t want to change anything in his life. Meanwhile, God wanted to make serious changes in Jonah´s life.As we know, having gone through some very difficult situations Jonah finally repented and followed to the place God wanted him to go. Let me point out that changes would require us to repent.
«Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly. He said, “I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice. For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; Yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple. Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to Yahweh.” Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land». (Jonah 2:1-10).
It only became possible to see the real status of Jonah´s heart after he had travelled to Niniveh to preach and people repented their sins. Right after that happened Jonah resented God. Therefore, God continued to work at the character of His prophet allowing the following circumstances described below to take place: «But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you repent of the evil. Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city. Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine. But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered. It happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?” He said, “I am right to be angry, even to death.” Yahweh said, “You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not laboured, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night. Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”» (Jonah 4:1-11).
God was willing to make His prophet in the likeness of His son Jesus Christ, merciful, tender-hearted and slow to anger. That´s why He broke the comfort in Jonah´s life letting the vine that protected Jonah from sun wither. Once it happened the sun could beat on his head.God was following His goal – to change His prophet character. God also wants to change me and you. To accomplish this goal He would allow serious problems in our life, if necessary. God can destroy things that prevent us from changing, because He can easily create the same things again afterwards. Let God do His work in your life. There is only good in Him! Let´s continue the topic tomorrow.Peace of God be with you!Rufus Adjiboje, pastor.
