The pacing of the summer season can be grueling at times. Most of us load up our schedules with workout plans, pool side adventures, and extensive vacation excursions to enjoy the glow of the longer days. Outside of summer recreational pursuits, parents desperately scramble to keep up with their children's sports and music development camps. The immense amount of pressure that we place upon ourselves to fulfill our daily workload can lead to system overload; when do we actually find time to replenish our minds, our bodies, and our spirits?
I was meditating on the mercy of God this past week, and I was reminded of the story of Jonah. Jonah was given a spiritual assignment from the Lord to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh in that season, a place known for wickedness and outright rebellion. Jonah thought that the people of Nineveh didn't deserve God's forgiveness, and so he decided to bypass the instruction of the Lord by creating his own personal GPS system. Jonah was actually convinced that he could escape the presence of God by boarding a ship that was headed in the complete opposite direction of Ninevah, while playing a game of hide-and-seek in the lower deck. Jonah's summer travel plans were abruptly halted by a storm that caused a great disturbance amongst the other crew members. In fear for their lives, they threw Jonah overboard in the hope that God would relent from His wrath upon Jonah's outright defiance.
As I reflect on the story of Jonah, I'm reminded of seasons in my life where I have attempted to bypass the spiritual calling that God has orchestrated for me. There are moments that the Holy Spirit is leading me to give someone a word of encouragement or spend time in prayer and fasting, but instead I ignore this assignment and pursue some other distractions to consume my time. Like Jonah, I have been plagued by the notion that certain people are 'too wicked' to receive the mercy of God and deserve to be punished for their sins. Who am I that I should hold the audacity to determine who is qualified to receive the gift of salvation through God's amazing grace? It was only by the blood of Jesus Christ that someone followed a divine navigation course to intercept my life when I was stranded in the sea of my rebellion. When I'm tempted to pursue my own selfish desires, I'm now reminded that there is someone out there that is depending on our obedience to fulfill the plan from the Lord. We carry the words of life that are infused through the Word of God to provide a source of hope to a generation of people that are suffering! May we be led by the spirit of God and trust in His navigation course that will preserve our lives unto eternity.
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