Reflections from Jonah (continued)...

I am continuing my reflections from the book of Jonah from yesterday.

4. Jonah saw God’s faithfulness and kindness repeatedly and was (I hope only for a short time) hardened by it, not humbled.

• Am I humbled and awed as I look into the face of Christ and the gospel (the ultimate act of faithfulness, mercy and kindness) or have I become cold to the wonders contained therein?

5. Jonah was corrected (for his good) kindly and repeatedly by God for his hard-heartedness.

• Do I receive God’s loving discipline as a mercy from my Father’s kind hand or do I hate discipline like the foolish child in Proverbs 12? Do I buck and fight like a child not wanting his spanking or do I submit humbly to my discipline as Christ submitted humbly… to MY punishment?

6. Jonah was so concerned with his sense of injustice and his selfish desires that he missed the reality of what God was doing in the people of Nineveh.

• Do I hold onto grudges and bitterness and as such render myself ineffective in ministering God’s grace to those around me? Do I blind myself to God’s ongoing work in those around me because I am so pridefully consumed with myself and my own agenda?

7. Jonah didn’t trust God as he should have. This made his life more difficult not easier like we all tend to think when we act out of fear and go wandering off on our own. (Remember he was thrown overboard in a really nasty storm, swallowed by a big fish, puked up by a big fish, and got a painful sunburn after his lovely plant died while sitting and pouting outside of Nineveh.)

• Do I allow fear and a lack of trust in God to keep me from following Jesus in the “valley’s and deserts” of life?
• Will I make the hard decisions with a firm trust in the God who is magnificently sovereign over all or will I run from His will for my life?
• Do I recognize and truly believe that my disbelief of God’s promises and disobedience to His word will result in consequences that are worse than any possible “benefit” that I might temporarily receive from my sin?
  

Well, there you have it. Those are my reflections from Jonah and I hope that they may help and encourage you all as God is willing.