Morning Devotional February 17, 2018

Jonah 2

1Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,

2And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

3For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

4Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

5The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

6I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.

7When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

9But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

10And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

What a wonderful story from God's Word!!! The man of God(Jonah) was running from God. God stopped him. God turned him around. God headed him in the direction He want him to go. God delivered Jonah to where He wanted him. All this without Jonah having a say or a choice or any input at all in what God had planned for him. Jonah clearly understood it was God working in his life. He clearly understood it was God who brought all this about and made it happen. And Jonah clearly understood it was because of his rebellion that God did things in the manner in which He did.

Yet we see later in this book that after God saved a great number of people through the preaching of Jonah, we see Jonah still in his rebellious state, unhappy about the results of God's Sovereign Grace on a wicked city.

O child of God, do we not see ourselves in this story? How many times are we used of God and yet we are discouraged by the results? Maybe the Lord's results are not what we wanted or expected. Maybe they aren't as impressive as another brothers. Maybe we expected God's destruction and tribulation on those who have committed, what we consider great sin. But instead God chose before the foundations of the earth to save that person or persons. God chose to make them our brother or sister. Just as He chose us for His good pleasure.

Child of God, we must glory in the salvation of others. No matter the sin they have committed. Have we forgotten we were once as they? Is it not by God's grace and mercy that we are not as they now?

Whether the Lord has chosen to save great numbers or to save very few, we are commanded to rejoice for these. If we love the Lord and His people as we claim we will rejoice in the salvation of souls no matter the numbers. We will rejoice in the blessings the Lord brings us and the blessings we see Him giving others no matter the number or the size of the blessings.

Just because a church or a mission work is small in number does not mean they are not being blessed. Nor does it mean they are not a light in their community and further. So is it the same if a church or mission work is large in number.

Praise God He uses small and large!!! Praise God He is still using us to minister and to reach His lost sheep!!! Praise God He from whom all blessings flow!!! Praise God all creatures here below!!!

Praise ye the Lord!!!

By Stephen McCool Sr.