October 18, 2020
Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so, he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
It’s important how this scripture is worded. He went down. He paid the fare. When you do God’s will, God’s way, He will always foot the bill. God is not about going down. He goes up. He’s not about losing. He’s about winning.
People don’t see how things are, they see things how they are. They don’t see reality; they see things through their own perception. Two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different. The thing isn’t different, the people are the difference. Your perception colors everything. How you see yourself, others, and life, affects everything. That’s why we must gain God’s perspective on things. No opinion matters other than God’s.
God has a plan for every life. He will work His plan in your life every single day. Every day is new! Every day the sun comes up is an opportunity to start fresh. He has a plan for you to walk in a liberty and freedom that’s beyond what any natural man could do. The reason most people don’t walk in this, is because they run from God’s presence. The presence of God is your place of peace, fulfilment, power, blessing, and increase. Everything comes from that place. Why do people run from the presence of God? Because they don’t want to do what He is asking of them. They have their own plans and desires. They are not willing to give up what they want, for what God wants.
Because God DOES have a specific plan for your life, He knows what it will require for that to come to pass. If you want God’s perfect will, you have to do it His way. God’s way is always years of preparation. Jesus spent 30 years preparing for 3 years of ministry. You have to have a place to commune with Him daily. Why? Because He has to feed you with His purpose. He will put his desires in you as you delight yourself in Him.
Jonah 1:4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
God SENT the storm. It was His mercy. He was endeavoring to get Jonah’s attention, and get him back in His presence. People go from storm to storm. Problem to problem. Down, down, down. And they question, “why is my life so bad?” QUIT RUNNING! Quit running from God’s presence and God’s purpose! God in His mercy is trying to get your attention and get you back in His presence and plan. Run after God! You’ll never be truly happy or satisfied without it! God can take you UP! He will pay the fares!
Jonah 1:5-7 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lightenthe load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Jonah was running from the presence of God. He goes down, down, down. He’s having to pay his own way. Things are getting worse. And then God sends this storm. Then Jonah finds himself in the bottom of the ship. Here’s the sad part. God is having to use the captain to wake Jonah from his sleep. Sound familiar? In our present day, God is having to use circumstances and the world to speak to His people and say, “WAKE UP! And call upon your God.”
Your children have a specific plan of God for their life. Your own plans for their life do not matter. You will only interfere with God’s plan. It’s more important that you teach them to pray and rely on God’s direction than anything. Don’t force YOUR plan on them. Don’t force everything you weren’t able to accomplish on them. If you have a relationship with God, you’ll be much better equipped to train them in the way they should go! As a parent, your job is not to be their friend! You’re to be a parent. A guardrail. They will thank you in the future! Train them by example!
If you don’t learn to order your tomorrow, today, the devil already has a jump on you for tomorrow. Set in your heart, that you already know what you are going to do every morning when you wake. Don’t let the devil plan your tomorrow. He will if you let him. Set your tomorrow on the presence of the Lord.
Genesis 13:1-18 Abraham and Lot
Moses built alters before pitching his tents. Why? Worship was more important to him. Lot’s biggest mistake was not knowing where his blessings were coming from. He was blessed because he was with Abraham. He separated and pitched his tent facing Sodom. After that, he went down, down, down. When you pitch your tent looking in the wrong direction, you will entertain thoughts you never would have if you had not put them before you. You begin to entertain images and imaginations that you never would have, had you not pointed your tent facing the wrong thing. When you allow your mind to go there, you will take on the feelings that go along with it. See the pattern? Separate yourself from God’s presence, and you will lose. You will not prosper. God took the nothing that surrounded Abraham and created an environment of everything. God prospered Abraham beyond his wildest dreams. Abraham chose God’s plan over what the world could give him. Everyone around him was affected because of that decision. We are still affected today by Abrahams decision to follow God. God can take what looks like nothing and turn it into something that will affect millions.