{"id":1805,"date":"2018-05-11T15:00:39","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T20:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1805"},"modified":"2019-05-17T15:09:03","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T20:09:03","slug":"ditching-jonah-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2018\/05\/11\/ditching-jonah-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditching the Jonah Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Waves<\/a><\/p>\n

Ditching the Jonah Life<\/h1>\n

by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n

Jonah was an interesting guy.\u00a0 <\/span>He had a relationship with God. He talked to God, and listened to Him. But he didn\u2019t always agree with Him. He felt like he could—should, in fact–pick and choose which of God\u2019s commands he should follow, and which he would ignore. When God told him to go to Ninevah and tell people about Him, Jonah balked, and then downright refused.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUUUUUMMMMMM, Naaaaah, I don\u2019t think so God. All due respect, I think that is a really bad idea. That may be in your plan, but not in mine. Find yourself another prophet. I think I will be better off going this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well we all know how that turned out:\u00a0 <\/span>Jonah got caught in a storm and thrown overboard, swallowed by a big fish, where he lived for three days before getting urped up on land. Lovely. It took all that for Jonah to come to his senses, to realize that God\u2019s way might really be best, and to choose to follow Him in spite of how things looked on the surface.<\/p>\n

Jonah didn\u2019t doubt his ability to hear God–He heard him loud and clear. He doubted God\u2019s judgment.\u00a0 <\/span>He had certain expectations of how his life should go, and when God told him to do something that didn\u2019t sync with that, he rebelled. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

I am too much like Jonah.<\/h2>\n

I expect my life to go a certain way, and when it doesn\u2019t, I whine.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t deserve this.\u201d \u00a0When that doesn\u2019t work (does whining ever help?),\u00a0 <\/span>I try to convince God He got it wrong. \u201cI think you missed the mark here, God. This is not really the best plan, at least not for me.\u00a0 <\/span>And here\u2019s why\u2026\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Finally I rebel. \u201cThanks but no thanks. I\u2019ll take it from here.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How many times do I have to nearly drown before I accept that God really does know best? When will I learn that following God, even when my \u201cbetter\u201d judgment tells me not to, is the best way\u2014the only way\u2014to live? When will the truth sink in and take hold?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because, the truth is, God sees the big picture, while I am only looking at one little puzzle piece. The truth is, God is crazy about me, and His way will lead me to the joyful, abundant life He so desires for me.\u00a0 <\/span>The truth is, God\u2019s plans for me won\u2019t lead me to disaster. They are designed to give me a future and a hope.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, God\u2019s judgment is much better than mine. Or yours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ditching the Jonah Life<\/b><\/h2>\n

Thankfully, just like with Jonah, God doesn\u2019t quit pursuing us, even when we turn away.\u00a0 <\/span>But God wants something better for us than this see-saw life of Jonah: \u00a0defiant independence one moment, and a desperate plea for help the next. He wants us to trust Him, no matter what.\u00a0 <\/span>He wants us to relax, knowing that no matter how things look, He\u2019s got our back.<\/p>\n

The more we trust God no matter what, the steadier our life-boat becomes. Peace seeps in. Joy peeks out from behind the clouds. Worry evaporates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The more we trust, the more we rest.<\/p>\n

Are you living the seesaw life of Jonah?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Be<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ditching the Jonah Life by Lydia Floren Jonah was an interesting guy.\u00a0 He had a relationship with God. He talked to God, and listened to Him. But he didn\u2019t always agree with Him. He felt like he could—should, in fact–pick and choose which of God\u2019s commands he should follow, and which he would ignore. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[53],"class_list":["post-1805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-trust-in-god"],"yoast_head":"\nDitching the Jonah Life - Belovedlove<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2018\/05\/11\/ditching-jonah-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ditching the Jonah Life - Belovedlove\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ditching the Jonah Life by Lydia Floren Jonah was an interesting guy.\u00a0 He had a relationship with God. 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