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Prepare: Are you comfortable being totally honest with God? Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to come before God’s throne of grace with confidence. Approach his throne now. Bring to him your burning issues.
Opting out
Jonah was convinced that the Ninevites deserved annihilation and he knew God well enough to know that God might decide differently (4:2). Jonah did not want to let God be God. So he opted out (v 3).
Jonah does not pray (v 6) and only acknowledges God under duress (v 9). His silence is a symptom of his problem with God. Whether we run away or drift away, the path away from God is marked by an absence of prayer and reluctance to witness.
God in pursuit
Jonah erroneously thought that his problem with God affected no one but him. Yet his decision endangered the business (v 5) and the lives of the sailors (vs 6–10). Thankfully, God brought good from a bad situation – the pagan sailors came to know the living God (v 14). It is remarkable that God did not meet Jonah’s disobedience with judgement.
The sailors believed the storm was a punishment (vs 4,11,13,15). However, the story is about pursuit rather than punishment. Jonah’s decision took him on a downward course (vs 3,5,15), yet at every point God was there, pursuing him with mercy (vs 4,17). God’s mercy may take the unexpected form of a fish or the strange form of that instrument of torture – the cross.
Respond: Pray for anyone running from God, that they will become aware of God’s loving pursuit.
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-02-13
Opting out
Jonah was convinced that the Ninevites deserved annihilation and he knew God well enough to know that God might decide differently (4:2). Jonah did not want to let God be God. So he opted out (v 3).
Jonah does not pray (v 6) and only acknowledges God under duress (v 9). His silence is a symptom of his problem with God. Whether we run away or drift away, the path away from God is marked by an absence of prayer and reluctance to witness.
God in pursuit
Jonah erroneously thought that his problem with God affected no one but him. Yet his decision endangered the business (v 5) and the lives of the sailors (vs 6–10). Thankfully, God brought good from a bad situation – the pagan sailors came to know the living God (v 14). It is remarkable that God did not meet Jonah’s disobedience with judgement.
The sailors believed the storm was a punishment (vs 4,11,13,15). However, the story is about pursuit rather than punishment. Jonah’s decision took him on a downward course (vs 3,5,15), yet at every point God was there, pursuing him with mercy (vs 4,17). God’s mercy may take the unexpected form of a fish or the strange form of that instrument of torture – the cross.
Respond: Pray for anyone running from God, that they will become aware of God’s loving pursuit.
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-02-13
Scripture
About this Plan
WordLive provides a daily slice of Bible reading and commentary that, over four years, covers most of the Bible. The commentary encourages the reader to engage with the Bible passage in order to deepen their relationship with God, through reflection and practical application. The WordLive website offers further multimedia content and group Bible study, while registration offers a daily email, journal and bookmarking, and community tools.
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We would like to thank Scripture Union England & Wales for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.wordlive.org/youversion
