Mar 27 Devotion: Prepared

Jonah 1:17; 4:6-8

17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

When a teacher is going to teach it is said they need to prepare a lesson. You put together the necessary material so that you may effectively convey the lesson you wish to teach. Finding the right illustration can often be a very effective means of making your desired point clear. God made some specific preparations just for Jonah, not only to instruct him but that we might have this instruction, also. He prepared a great fish, a gourd, a worm, and a vehement east wind. Each of these things were prepared by God to specifically direct Jonah on the right path and to show him that his attitude toward the Ninevites was not right. God certainly has the right to forgive those that will repent, even those that have committed horrible sins (which the Ninevites had done.) Jonah goes outside the city to pout about God showing mercy to Nineveh. He did not learn the lesson that God was teaching. The book of Jonah ends without any evidence of Jonah’s repentance.

Consider today that God’s lesson preparations for us are made in love because he cares for us. He brings things into our lives that he might show us our faults and direct us back into a right relationship with him. We can be very hardheaded students at times, (as Jonah illustrates) but God prepares what goes on around us to show us the right way. Instead of being obstinate like Jonah, we need to be sensitive to God’s prepared lessons and follow him completely. If he did not care, he would not keep drawing us to himself by showing us what is right and acceptable.  

In Christ’s Service,

Bro. Adrian Moore

2 Cor. 4:5