I am no longer in the belly of the fish but I really don't know why. I have a road ahead of me that God has laid out and I pray that I have the strength to stay on it. There is a lesson for me to learn from this which I have learned. A lesson of God's compassion, love (hesed), goodness and mercy. I am not perfect and never will be. I am a sinner and a sin, is a sin, is a sin. PERIOD
I look at Jonah and wonder how he missed it. He was actually angry at God. He knew that God is a "gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love." (Jonah 4:2) Yet he was angry with God for showing the same love and compassion to the Ninevites as He did to Jonah.
I have been guilty of that in different ways and I hear people all the time who are as well. They say, "They call themselves Christians but they _______" None of us are perfect. We are all in a different place in our walk. We are all sinners. Anyone can point their finger and fill in that blank about us. Being a Christian doesn't mean I do not sin, I should see sin more clearly and easily, but sometimes still step in it. Walking away was my sin but anything that is against God's will is a sin. If we don't ask God what He wants us to do, then we sin by default...we don't even care to ask.
Praise Lord that I have my God, my Jesus who washed away my sin with his own blood. My God who describes himself in Exodus 33:19 as Goodness, Mercy and Compassion.
I cannot use Him as an excuse to sin, but when I step in it He is there. I have learned to have compassion for those who step into sin. I have learned to show mercy and love, not condemnation. More importantly, to feel the compassion and mercy in my heart. To understand others heartache and not have a judgemental heart. He is God and I am not.
I am breaking through to a new me, thank you Jesus! One step at a time.
Father, what do you want me to do today?
The closer I come to God, the more sensitive I am to my sins. This is how we are designed, and Praise God for opening spiritual eyes to our sinful nature. For the most part, I know what is defined as "sin" and what is right/wrong in Gods eyes. There are times when I squeeze my eyes shut and pretend that I don't, but that doesn't work at all, and he quickly calls me on it.
ReplyDeleteYour message today brought Romans 8 to mind. Although we ARE a sinful people with sinful nature, we do not need to be controlled by it. Ro 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in in you." -c