Scripture
“Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the Lord”. Jonah 1:4 Good News Bible GNB.
Prayer
Dear Father God, thank you for providing the calming peace, that only you alone can offer freely. To all of us when we face difficult times or are torn over doing the right thing and following your true path.
Forgive us father when we turn our back from you, and think we can walk in the opposite direction to where you want us to be.
Thank you, father God, for opening our eyes to your love and for bringing people into our life, who can push us through and help us in our time of trouble. Let us all feel encouraged by the fact that you Father will never leave us.
In Psalm 16:8 the psalmist declares “I set the Lord always before me” No matter what life tries to throw at us, lets us remember that God is always there. Amen.
Please go back to this scripture friends.
Reflection:
In our lives, we may all have examples, where we have gone in the opposite direction to advise and instruction from someone who wants the best for us. This could be a caregiver/ parent advising us, not to hang about with a certain peer group.
To choosing to date someone /marrying someone, who others have said may not be good for or to us. Going clubbing rather than focusing on, a work or college task or even managing your finances more effectively.
Often at the time when we hear such advice or instruction we react based on our own feelings, we may become angry and ignore what has been said or even run in the opposite direction. Even when we know its actually wrong, this can lead to further problems. It’s only when we slow down and see the situation again our view changes
In this months bible passage I focused on Jonah, a prophet asked by God to carry out a task which was to travel to a large city who were rebelling and not living according to the law. He was tasked with challenging this community.
In Jonah’s eyes, it was too much and he ran in the opposite direction to another city, sometimes by running the opposite direction we are running further into potential trouble. In the verse above there is mention of a crew. In Jonah’s case, these were strangers intentionally placed by the Heavenly Father, who had to wake him up from a sleep, when the boat entered stormy waters and was on verge of destruction.
In our lives sometimes if we have a circle of good people around us who we can trust, I know is not always there as people can change. They can support you through the storm and guide you out, sometimes going it alone can also lead to more problems. However, if we are encouraged to turn around and face what we have to do, Jesus can and will provide help through himself and through others to support you.
I urge and encourage you to read chapter 1 and 2 of Jonah and understand God I will receive and love you.
Jun 1, 2018, KAY Life Essence UK Blogger