In my last article to you, I stated if you change what you believe, you can change what you think and eventually change your destiny . Releasing beliefs that you have embraced are not so easily abandoned. Unfortunately, over time many of our beliefs have become part of our persona. We like to categorize them; give them a label and then act the part. Some of us would go as far as to categorize our view as far right; call ourselves conservative and buy a three-piece blue suit.
Whether we call ourselves conservative or liberal, after a while the fact that life does not fit into our little box becomes a reality. The Lord directs us as He will and demands us to fit into His box and follow Him. His box would be difficult to label. The Pharisees (self-righteous )tried .The scribes (lawyers ) tried. Even John the Baptist tried. All of them failed .
I am not sure how you would label Jonah. However, Jonah was so busy being what he thought he should be, he didn't even have time to think that God was calling him to change. Is the God of your salvation calling for changes in your life? Could your unsatisfaction with your life be the result of a stirring of God? Even more dramatic, could the storms you are now encountering be the Lord trying to get your attention? How difficult are you going to make it for the lord? A much better question is, how difficult are you going to make it for yourself? As Jonah discovered, our arms are too short to box with God. If the Lord has to shake up and overturn our comfort zone to get our attention, He will do it!
Jonah's intentions were not to be disobedient. It just so happened that what the Lord wanted from Jonah ran contrary to what Jonah believed. Are we great servants of God as long as it is on our terms? Or will we abandon our beliefs to follow every directive from God. In the belly of the whale Jonah rearranged his priorities and told the Lord what He commanded him to do would always come first. Many of us struggled with what God asked us to do but also, like Jonah, we rearranged our priorities and yielded to the call of God on our life.
My question to you is, even though you yielded, did you change what you believe? Shouldn't God's leadership affect our life so that we change our beliefs to line up with God's Hand? Jonah's story ends with God challenging Jonah about his right to question God.
In our walk with God ( life's journey )He will command us to do many things to teach us truths that we must be ready to embrace. If not, we become servants who are mad and angry because we think God is doing things we feel are wrong. Jonah was mad with God for giving Nineveh a second chance. If your beliefs do not change, your thoughts will not change, and consequently your character, as well as your destiny, will remain the same. The story ends with Jonah being a grumpy, mad, old man. His destiny as a prophet is never mentioned again indicating nothing achieved.
Do not let your ministry or work for the Lord end like Jonah's. As God directs, be willing to change what you believe. Remember truths do not change, but as we discover them we must release what is contrary to them and wholeheartedly embrace each revealed truth!
