Do you have anything in your life that you know God is asking you to do, but you don’t want to do it? (Ouch!)
What makes it hard for you?
- Is it uncomfortable?
- Out of your comfort zone?
- Does it involve someone you really don’t want to help?
- Would it produce a result that you don’t want to see happen?
Even when we are spiritually mature, we can still fight and wrestle with our good old stubborn will at times.
Look at Jonah. He really did not want to do what he was called to do. God had a specific role for him to play and he said, “No thank you”, and got on a ship going in the opposite direction. We all know how that turned out for him……3 days in the belly of a big fish after being thrown overboard into the sea and swallowed by the fish. Wow! Seriously, think about that. Can you imagine? He was then spit out and God gave him the same mission that he ran from the first time. This time he reluctantly went and did what God asked him to do. The results were great, the city wasn’t destroyed, and everyone was happy.
Well, almost everyone. Jonah wasn’t. He was actually angry. He thought God was too merciful and didn’t want them to be spared. He even asked God to take his life.
Think of your life like a play. The script is written, you just have to say the lines and act it out. (ok, I know that’s a very simplistic analogy, but follow me here….) God has a specific role for you. He’s given you all the abilities, skills, experiences, etc. that you need to do it. He placed you here on earth at this place, at this time, to interact with certain people, and to fill a role. Often we miss that and never realize what our God-given purpose and destiny is.
- Life may get really hard.
- You may have difficult decisions to make.
- God may ask you to do things you don’t really want to do.
- You may want to run from them just like Jonah.
But what if God is using those experiences to make you more like Him and shape who you are?
- What if these really difficult, unpleasant things are tasks that could end up being the very best things you ever did?
- What if the thing He asked you to do (that you don’t want to do) is actually the very thing He created you to do? That’s something to think about.
Trust me, I know this can be hard. It’s a great opportunity though to ask God to change our heart and to learn to trust Him. Run to Him instead of from Him.
Jonah’s task could have been his greatest achievement, but it turned into a very bad situation in the belly of a fish! Don’t be a “Jonah”!
So, back to my original question…….
Do you have anything in your life that you know God is asking you to do, but you don’t want to do it?
- How are you going to respond?
- How do you think God wants to use this experience in your life?
- Will it be your greatest achievement, or will it lead to a more tragic and difficult ending?
