In church, my pastor is doing the book of Jonah. Everyone thinks that the book of Jonah is either about Jonah or the Whale. The book of Jonah is about two things:
1. Even in our rebellion God loves us.
2. When we are disobedient from God’s calling, He will pursue us – Relentlessly!
This book is only 4 chapters in the bible. It has only 48 versus and God is mentioned 38 times. The theme of Jonah is GOD!
God pursues us and is relentless in His pursuit of us. God does not want us in rebellion but in obedience to Him. He is a loving, patient, pursuing, relentless God! God will never give up on us.
People have disputed the book of Jonah for centuries. But we MUST believe the book of Jonah! It is either truth or lie – no in between. God’s Word is God-Breathed. It is His truth and God cannot lie. So even though this very small book in God’s Word may seem unbelievable, we must believe it’s lesson.
The longer our rebellion lasts the harder it is to get back to God. Rebellion means to refuse to do what God clearly requires. And even though we are in rebellion, know that God is relentless in his pursuit of us and comes after us. Yes, He will meet us wherever we are when we finally stop rebelling and cry out to Him!
Before you can tell the Good News…. You must share the Bad News…Every step of rebellion is a step further away from God and the harder it is going to be to get back to Him. You ask yourself…why is God in pursuit of me in this rebellion? Because He already has His hand on you!
Jonah wanted to die rather than do what God asked him to do. That is absolute rebellion. He knew what God expected of him but absolutely refused to do it. He couldn’t run away from God as God is THERE wherever you are! Psalm 139 says "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
So wherever we go… HE IS THERE! We can sneak food at night, we can eat in our cars where no one sees us, we can hide that food in our desk drawer…. But know this HE IS THERE! Watching our rebellion and relentless in pursuing us to obey Him and do what He requires.
We are God’s temple. He resides within us. When we overeat we are abusing God’s temple. Yes, the words we can read, we can have this in our minds but how do we get it to drop to our heart?
Psalm 139 further states…For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
God knew us then, knows us now, and will know us in the future. He is the same today, tomorrow and yesterday! He loves us, He forgives us, He requires our obedience, He wants our faithfulness.
This past week in my Beth Moore Breaking Free study we studied the Unfailing Love of God. With that study (the book of Isaiah) and this message I was totally convicted of how much I rebel against God and what He wants from me and expects from me. His love is pure and is ALWAYS there! Even though we are in rebellion HE IS STILL THERE!!!! He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
When we continue to rebel, it is US that makes it harder to get back to Him. He is still there. He is the same when we entered in rebellion and as we continue in our rebellion. His love is unfailing. We cannot get that love from anyone on earth. It can only come from God. So the love we think we are getting from our comfort foods is a lie.
I am not saying this journey is not difficult. Christ said our journey on this earth will be difficult. But He also wanted us to have peace and joy in Him while we are on this earthly journey. Even Paul was singing Him praises in Jail.
As we continue to break free of the chains of this stronghold, let us sing Him praises. Isaiah 51:9 says Awake, Awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord. We are the arm of the Lord. We are his witnesses. So I say to all of us… Eden’s Freedom Sisters… Awake, Awake! Clothe yourselves with strength as we are the arm of the Lord here on earth! He is the Lord our God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar! Let our waves roar as we obey His commands. He has replaced our ashes for beauty!
God first loved us. So do not say – I love you Lord… but say “I love you too”! Look in the mirror and know that God has already said He loves you! When someone says they love you, we respond with “I love you too”!
We are so used to hearing the lies, that we have forgotten the truth. HE LOVE US!!!! And We love Him too!
In His Light, Love, and Joy, Debbie
