It’s Not Over
From The Message: Then & Now
“But God” is one of the most powerful phrases a believer can speak. Those two words eliminate any guilt, shame, and regret that sin has ever caused you. Those two words are evidence of the great transforming power of our God. It does not matter what happened then; at the Cross, God gives you a new now.
We learn in Sunday school that Jonah’s disobedience ended up getting him swallowed by a whale. What’s seldom remembered is that “The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” The Bible says that God’s goodness and mercy are in a constant pursuit of us. When God has a purpose for you, your past disobedience is not an indicator for your future success. This isn’t a license for disobedience, but rather an unfailing grace- a love like no other. Just like a good earthly father, God corrects us through our disobedience for our betterment.
There are many objections from our flesh that we must quench if we wish to be obedient to God’s call. Today inadequacy, fear, comfort, and comparison deliver many believers into disobedience. It’s important to remember that whoever is called by God is also equipped by Him. The Spirit of God will equip you infinitely more than any diploma, experience, or pedigree ever will. Jonah’s story illustrates that God is in control. The whale wouldn’t have swallowed up Jonah nor threw him up unless God had spoke to it. Whenever we face troubles or challenges we can remember that at God’s command we can be let go from our own proverbial whale.
If you’ve been running from your own Nineveh, remember the grace that God had on Jonah. God took his disobedience and turned it into a powerful lesson that would eventually lead to his redemption. God took Jonah’s “then” and gave him a “now”, and can He do the same for you today!
