Thursday, June 26, 2008

Let’s continue our project of reading through the Bible in two years.  We’re on target to finish our reading by the end of this year.  Today we begin reading the book of Jonah.  As you read it, look at how God portrays Jonah as the pouting prophet.  Dwight L. Moody once confided, “I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any other man I ever met.”  Jonah would have to say the same about his own life.  He thought everything should go exactly the way he wanted it to go, and when it didn’t he childishly pouted.  Pouting is a far too common ailment among God’s people.  Its cause is self-reliance and self-interest.  Its cure is found in putting God’s interests first, the other person’s second, and your own last.  In Jonah’s case, God had a purpose for reaching out to Nineveh.  He would be glorified as His purpose was realized.  The Ninevites needed to hear the message of God.  They needed to repent or face destruction.  Jonah wasn’t concerned about God’s glory, nor Nineveh’s salvation.  He was concerned only about himself and his own puny plans.  If you put God’s interests first then it won’t be difficult to do what God asks of you.  You will also be able to praise God for the results no matter what they are.  When you feel like pouting, start praising!  Jonah might not have done that at first, but he wrote this book and in it he shared how God graciously worked a miracle in spite of him.  His testimony should be an encouragement to you to stop pouting and start praising.