Author: Pastor Andrew
There are two characters in the Bible that I can relate to the most: Jonah and David. Their stories resonate with me, not because of their major successes, they had. Relatively, I see a lot of myself in their struggles. Each man had to stop and refocus on God because he had veered off track.
King David, whom the Bible calls a “man after God’s own heart,” made some mistakes. Long story short, he wanted a beautiful, married woman for himself. So, he had the woman’s husband sent to the front lines of battle to get killed. Don’t get me wrong. I have never done something like that. But, I have let my selfish desires cause me to act against God’s character. In a sombre moment when he realized his need for God, David prayed, “I am completely discouraged. Revive me by your word.”
Jonah was a man whom God asked to do something crazy. He asked him to go to Ninevah, a city with unbelievers, to preach a one-sentence sermon: “In forty days, Ninevah will be destroyed”. As all of us would do, Jonah ran far away from Ninevah to get far away from God’s call on his life. God didn’t let Jonah run for long. In a moment of clarity and a realization that he should stop running, Jonah said, “When I have lost all hope, I turn my thoughts once again to the Lord.”
Why can I relate to these guys? Because there are many times in my life when I have to stop what I’m doing and refocus on God. There are times when I have to be revived by God’s word. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Are you in one right now and course-correct? If so, what I want you to do over the next couple of minutes is repeat Jonah’s words out loud:
“When I have lost all hope, I turn my thoughts to the Lord.”
Refocus your mind and heart on God today. It’s never too late. After all, look at David. If He can find a way back to God, anyone can!
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)
