Influence:Being A Vessel God Can Use

"The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord…. Jonah 1:1-3 NIV


In completing a recent study of the book of Jonah, God taught me a great many things….I know, I know….. you’re probably thinking, "The book is only 4 chapters long. How much information could there be?" at first glance, I thought the very same thing, but I now stand corrected and amazed by just how wrong I turned out to be!!!
Many remember the book of Jonah from the halls of Sunday School and still tend to view the story from that perspective…. a man in a big storm, who got swallowed by a big fish only to have to later contend with a big wind….when in fact, the story is rife with lessons that are still very relevant to all followers of Christ today.
For those of you who may be a little new to the story, Jonah, a prophet to the nation of Israel, was a man intimately acquainted with God, who also had a profound sense of national pride and loyalty. God commands Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh to declare His judgment against the city due to their great wickedness. Well, the one problem for Jonah, in God’s having commanded him to undertake that particular task, was that the Assyrian people (those who lived in Nineveh) were some of Israel’s greatest enemies…Jonah did not so much fear for his life in going there, as much as he flat out did not WANT to go there and warn the people of God’s impending wrath. Remember, he knew God intimately, and knew Him to be a kind and merciful God, and he realized that if the people of Nineveh turned away from their wicked ways, God in His loving kindness, would spare them….and that idea did not set well with Jonah….in other words, he wanted them to get, in His opinion, what they deserved….So, instead of going to Nineveh as God commanded, Jonah decided to disobey God and made a mad dash for Tarshish instead. As a result, God orchestrated a series of uncomfortable events to bring Jonah back into obedience. The book is a beautiful depiction of the great love and mercy that God feels for all people and the lengths to which He will go to lovingly pursue each of His children back into right relationship with Himself.
Priscilla Shirer, the writer and teacher of the Bible study I took, offered 2 "equations" for each participant to consider. The 1st was, "Insignificant Person + Insignificant Task = Interruption"…while the 2nd was, "Significant Person + Significant Task= Divine Intervention"(1). I couldn’t help but immediately consider how differently Jonah’s story may have gone had he put aside his deep (albeit understandable) dislike of the Ninevites and swiftly accepted that his call from God to go to Nineveh was in fact, not an interruption but a Divine Intervention…as much for him as the people of Nineveh. Midway through this teaching, God began shifting my "plank-filled" gaze away from Jonah and onto myself. He began to challenge me concerning my own personal "Ninevites" and convict me of how often I, in my own life and dealings with others, had like Jonah, "run off to Tarshish" and become an obstacle to His kingdom purposes by deciding for myself who I would allow Him to influence through me….He lovingly reminded me, that every single difficult person and situation that has ever touched my life, has done so under the careful watch of His eye and Divine purpose….once this realization took full hold of my heart, I then began to feel encouraged and emboldened by the truth that I am a significant person, chosen by God, for significant tasks, that are divine interventions sent direct from heaven and assuming that you are acquainted with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the very same is true for you as well.
Eventually, Jonah did go to Nineveh and what resulted is thought by Biblical scholars to be the greatest "revival"of all time…the entire, great city of Nineveh, from the king on down, turned away from their wickedness, turned to God in repentance and at such time, God relented from His impending wrath against them…..So, you may be wondering what the end result of my time spent sojourning with Jonah has been? Well, I am now facing life and all people with a renewed sense of purpose. I have been reminded that God has blessed each of us with a "sphere of influence" not for our glory but for His. As followers of Christ, we simply do not get to "pick and choose" whom God will draw to Himself through us…we are simply to yield ourselves to Him as a willing vessel, allowing Him room in our hearts and lives to make Himself conspicuous in this dark and dying world, in any way and through any circumstance that He chooses. As Jesus speaks, The Great Commission makes this clear….. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 HCSB
Nowhere in His statement does Jesus say, "you choose who you go to"….He simply says "Go….." equally important, I hope that you noticed that there’s a time limit as to how long we have to accomplish the significant tasks He has imparted to us…."to the end of the age." One thing we all know for sure is that time is fleeting and swift. In light of that fact, I encourage each of you to take careful exploration of who you are; that you may be certain that you do not suffer from the same "Jonah-like" heart condition that I suffered from….. and then purpose through Holy Spirit filled living to condition yourself to become a surrendered vessel God can fully use to draw all people unto Himself before it is everlasting too late…..

1. "Jonah: Navigating A Life Interrupted" Priscilla Shirer Lifeway Press. Nashville, Tennessee

The Favor of God

Favor- Noun: A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; an act of grace or goodwill, as distinct from justice or remuneration

Over the past few weeks to months there has been one resounding theme that God seems to constantly keep playing in my mind and heart....His Favor....
Whether it has been through stories my children have shared with me concerning the kindness others have shown them or through the outright acts of love and kindness others have shown me or if it has shown up in the honor and esteem that many have bestowed on our family...this theme keeps resurfacing in my day to day life...
I often find myself meditating on the blessing and encouragement that is found in the midst of God's unmerited favor with a grateful and awestruck heart.
If you have entrusted your life to Christ, you well know, encompassed in this life, are some difficulties that God in His infinite wisdom, chooses to deliver us from while there are still others that He chooses to deliver us through. Although we receive the Favor of God everyday in having the gift of life, in my own experience, it has been in the midst of difficulty that He has chosen to deliver me through (rather than from) that I have known His favor to utterly and completely show up and shine the brightest....
Again, the examples are many....a friend who called to invite me to dinner simply because she said she wanted to "love on me", a young lady in church who removed a beloved set of jewelry and gave it to me simply because she said she "wanted me to have it.", the numerous teachers and coaches who have cheered and helped my son's through their transition from home schooling back to public school, the complete strangers, who totally unaware, spoke words of encouragement that deeply ministered to my point of greatest need at that very moment and the list could go on and on...
Yes, these are very tangible shows of God's favor and blessing that I have highlighted here and I in no way mean to imply that this is the only way in which God goes about showing and bestowing His love and favor upon us because that is simply not true....No, I only recount these particular examples in hopes that each of you who has the opportunity to read this will take some time this week to scour your own lives for evidence of the very same showing of God's precious love and favor toward you...the smile from a stranger you pass by on the street, the card or call from a friend or loved one that shows up at exactly the right moment….I know you get the idea. When the pathway grows dark and life gets tough, we may not be thankful "for" all things, but we can be thankful "in" all things. I firmly believe it's at those times in our lives (when His favor lights the way) that our loving Heavenly Father says to us...."My child, although I have chosen and prefer not to deliver you from the storm you are in; I most assuredly am right here with you as you pass through it."
Dear Friends, My prayer for you this week, as you practice God’s favor in your life, is that your heart will be filled with gratitude, even and especially in the midst of difficulty.
"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Luke 2:52"