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Rest or Weariness

By Bobbie Jean Merck

            Andrew, my 11 year old grandson, was blessing me with a visit.  After a busy time in the afternoon and as the darkness began to fall, he asked if I would like to watch a DVD.  Of course the answer was “yes” because I wanted to make his visit a happy time.

            As the DVD continued a strong reference was made to Jonah.  The next day I heard a pastor deliver a message filled with wisdom from the Book of Jonah.  The anointing and unction to function flooded my being.  Excitedly I began to write truths of principles from Jonah’s experience, with which you are familiar.  Let us apply these principles to our life in Christ.

            God‘s direction was spoken to Jonah but he chose to go in the opposite direction.

            No matter where we go or where we are God knows and He has His hand upon our lives.  As a Christian, we cannot escape the plans of God and the will of God.  He spoke it, called us, and chose us for that very purpose before the foundations of the world were laid.  His plan and purpose for us was not thought of suddenly when we “got everything right”.  And as with Jonah, He knows from the beginning if we will obey or disobey.  But!  He believes we can and will obey!

            Jonah’s contrary, opposite direction brought on a violent storm.  The sailors were fearful and desperate.  The storm was making a horrific noise and the sailors were also.  Can you imagine, the disobedient Jonah was sound asleep?  He didn’t seem to have a care.  But his disobedience was causing a storm that was trouble to everyone around him, even life threatening.

            “Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, Jonah lost the toss” (Jonah 1:7 NLT).

            One man’s disobedience threatened the lives of many.  But God was directing this scenario to get this disobedient servant to the place of obedience.  Look as verse 12.  "Throw me into the sea," Jonah said, "and it will become calm again. For I know that this terrible storm is all my fault."

            Jonah knew that he was responsible for the violent storm.  Did he think he would be drowned in the ocean?  Did he think death was better that a life of obedience to God?  Jonah did not have a clue about the “greatness of God and His plan” for his life.  Did he think he could still control the circumstances even after such a display of God’s power?

            We’ll leave these questions to God and believe and function in the principles of wisdom from Jonah’s experience.

            To know yourself and to live a life of peace, joy, and rest follow these principles set forth in God’s Word.

I.                    RE-EXAMINE WHO you are.  In verse seven they asked Jonah, “Who are you?”

What a difference it makes in our lives when we know “who we are”.  “Who are you?”  First of all, I am a Christian.  I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  That’s who I am.  I am in Him!  I am accepted by God because I am in Him!  I am of God (First John 4:4).

            If and when we live our lives knowing and are mindful of who we are confidence, courage, and obedience are fruit of and in our lives.  Then “knowing who we are” determines every choice and decision of our lives.  Saints, I cannot over emphasize the all-importance of this.  It is a “must” and not an option.

            Decisions began to be spoken by Jonah after he stated WHO he was.

            “And Jonah answered, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.’" (Jonah 1:9-10 NLT).

II.                 REALIZE WHERE you are.

You must examine and know WHO you are before you can examine WHERE you are.

“Then he told them that he was running away from the LORD” (Jonah 1:10 NLT).

            We must face up to where we are presently.  What is our status?  We are not talking about someone else’s present condition and circumstances; we are realizing and recognizing our very own personal condition and circumstances.  God deals with each one of us!  I am the one who must be strong, confident, and courageous.  I am the one who must stand before God alone on that great judgment day.  It is my works that will be put through the fire to determine their value.

            When Jonah’s experience began to turn into the will of God for this life the storm stopped at once.

            “Then they cried out to the LORD, Jonah's God. ‘ LORD,’ they pleaded, ‘don't make us die for this man's sin. And don't hold us responsible for his death, because it isn't our fault. O LORD, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.’   Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!   The sailors were awestruck by the LORD's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him” (Jonah 1:14-16 NLT).

            Yes, the ship and sailors were safe.  The sailors even recognized God’s power.  “The sailors were awestruck by the LORD's great power …” (Jonah 1:16a NLT).

            “Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 NLT).

III.               RECOGNIZE WHY you are where you are. 

Remember, this is check-up time.  If we are where we are because of bad and wrong choices, decisions, and mistakes recognize it’s nobody else’s fault but “my” own.  Repent if necessary, but don’t stay there in self-pity and worry.

            Jonah’s time in the whale’s belly was a messy, stinky, unwanted condition.  You may be in a messy, stinky, unwanted condition and circumstance right now.

            Jesus talked about a son who was also in a stinky place.  But he remembered WHO he was; he realized WHERE he was; he remembered WHY he was there and he came to his senses. 

"’When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger!   I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man'” (Luke 15:17-19 NLT).  We’ll come back to this son.  But let’s now look at number four for application to our lives.

            IV.       REMEMBER WHOSE you are.

            Both Jonah and the prodigal son came to this truth about themselves.  They both returned to their “WHOSE”.

            Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.

            The prodigal son went “home to his father”.

            With Jonah we see ownership and master.  With the prodigal son we see a father’s love and compassion.  With both Jonah and the son we see forgiveness, mercy, and full provision.  We see rebellion and disobedience put into the sea of forgetfulness never to be mentioned again, and in both men we don’t see having to “pay something” for their past life and their return and restoration.  But we do see a call to now go forth in the right direction.

            Jonah and the son show us exactly to whom and where we should go and what we should do to get there.  Jonah prayed.  The son went. 

            Their thoughts turned in the right direction.

            "When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple” (Jonah 2:7 NLT).

            They had faith that they would be received, heard, and accepted.

            They did their part, they acted, and God did the rest.  Jonah was released from his messy, stinky, and unwanted condition.  The son was restored to his rightful sonship and fully provided for.

V.                 RELINQUISH all you are despite of WHERE you are. 

Let go.  Don’t hold on to the “negative” past.  Move on.  Stop sitting in the back seat and move up, forward to the front seat, as it were.

            Between Jonah’s call and command from God to “get up and go” and his turning his thoughts once more to the Lord, he had RELINQUISHED his “all” to God.  He had a great revelation as he prayed, and that revelation is recorded for us by the Holy Spirit as an anchor to our soul in times of need and trouble.

            “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” (Jonah 2:8).

What are lying vanities?  Every curse and lie that comes from Satan, such as sickness, poverty, etc.  To observe these means to dwell on them and worry and talk about them rather than the Almighty God and His covenant blessings to us.  Jonah gave us the antidote and key to a lifetime of fulfillment and blessings in verse nine.

            “But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone" (Jonah 2:9 NLT).

VI.              RESPOND to WHOSE you are no matter WHERE you are. 

Do not compromise by wavering in your faith for one moment.  John wrote, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts” (First John 5:21 NLT).

            Also, make the rule of your life Second John 8, 9 NLT.  “Watch out, so that you do not lose the prize for which we have been working so hard. Be diligent so that you will receive your full reward.  For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son.”

            Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish, in the midst of this messy, stinky, unwanted condition.  That is the way of escape for us!  “He said, ‘I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!  (Jonah 2:2 NLT).

            Jonah RESPONDED to the Lord WHERE he was.  The Lord heard and answered by commanding the whale (the gigantic seemingly impossible circumstances) to RELEASE Jonah!  “Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did” (Jonah 2:10 NLT).

            That’s our God!

            VII.      REPORT for duty after you have left WHERE you are.

            The first thing that happened to Jonah upon his deliverance from his rebellion and stinky, messy, unwanted circumstances was God’s instructions to him.  The call and command did not change or alter.  How could it?  It originated in and from our unchangeable God.  Remember, “For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn” (Romans 11:29 NLT).

            “Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message of judgment I have given you.’  This time Jonah obeyed the LORD's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.

NLT’" (Jonah 3:1-3 NLT).

            “What am I to do,” you may ask, “I have already REPORTED and I am obeying God’s call.   But my circumstances are messy, stinky, and unwanted.  Am I to quit until this changes?”

            The answer is “NO!”  Ask and believe and receive more of God’s GRACE.  You don’t “give up”, you “get up”.  It’s only Satan trying to wear you down, stop, and control you.  “… use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT).

            Adopt Paul’s focus as your very own weapon and apply it to the action of your faith and life.  “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,” (Philippians 3:13 NLT).

            Recently I was invited to a reception honoring a candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives.  The speaker of the House was to have a major part also.  Little hindrances happened throughout the day.  The final hindrance was, my garage door would not go up or down.  I couldn’t go without my car!  And it was a new garage door.

            Yes, I was a bit frustrated.  Have you ever been frustrated?  I went back into the house saying, “Well, God, that does it.  You don’t want me to go.”  In the next, I said “next”, breath I said, “No, Satan, it’s you who doesn’t want me to go because you don’t want my presence there to do my part for God’s cause of righteousness, truth, and justice.  I am going!”

            Immediately God showed me what to do.  Use my own strength and hands and manually push the garage door up and open; leave it up while I went and put it back down when I returned.  I did.  You know, it gave me such joy that I had said and done these things.

            You guessed it.  The next morning I started to do the manual process again and the thought came, “Try the electric process.”  I did and the thing did its perfect movement and has functioned properly since that time.

            Yes, it was a “small” event, but that “special event” (the reception) in part holds God’s great plan for our future.

            And remember, the devil wants to keep you from bearing everlasting fruit to the glory of God.  So, he sends the little foxes (whatever may distract, hinder, or stop you).  So, “catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that gnaw at our vines, when the vines are in bloom” (Song of Solomon 2:15 Moffatt).  Don’t allow or let the devil or flesh destroy your blossoms before they can turn into fruit!

EXAMINE:

I.                    RE-EXAMINE WHO you are

II.                 REALIZE WHERE you are

III.               RECOGNIZE WHY you are there

IV.              REMEMBER WHOSE you are

V.                 RELINQUISH all you are to WHOSE you are

VI.              RESPOND to WHOSE you are

VII.            REPORT for duty

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