Pride: Remember Johah

Watch out for pride. Pride is (pretty much) seeing yourself or your opinions as more worthy than another's.

When we get right down to it, which of us knows which is more worthy? So you have the Bible to tell you when God is in agreement with you but how many times is your right hand doing the work of God while your left hand is an advocate of the devil?

Why would God give us the story of Johah? I mean, doesn't it make God sound harsh and unfair? Was it to show us what pride does? Was it a story to demonstrate the results?

God's prophets never got on their knees and begged to be made a prophet. There are things far beyond our understanding going on in the heavens. We see the results here without knowing where the beginning was. A prophet is a prophet for reasons we don't understand but not without the consent of the human himself. They can say, "I didn't ask for this" but somewhere down the line there was an agreement.

Jonah knew the score, he knew God was much bigger than himself and yet he acted out of stubbornness anyway.

One is left to wonder how many years this discussion went on, between Jonah and God, concerning Nineveh.

"Go tell the drunks on the corner that if they don't straighten up by next Monday, I'm going to lay them all out on the sidewalk for burial."

We say, "They asked for it! I've been there before and those people can't even hear, much less care. Now you want me to waste my time again? I don't think so".

Six months later, "Go down to the corner and do what I told you to do".

Your reaction? You get busy with the Sunday School Class instead. Sound familiar?

A prophet knows he or she is an ambassador of the Lord. If it were a paid employee for some company and we don't obey, how long will that job last? And yet we do this to God Himself.

You have a dream about a woman in the church and that dream points out that there is something troubling her walk. You, knowing that you are one of God's dreamers, worry and ponder over the dream, wondering why the Lord would tell you about such a thing. You come so close to sharing the dream with that woman but never quite get that far. Why?

You say, "I'll be ostracized. They'll call me a witch because of the dreams". Are we working to be popular or are we working for Him?

It's true that some dreams are simply motivating us to pray for that person. You will need to talk to the Lord about that.

My point is this. Are we about as willing as Jonah, to carry out direct orders? Are we caught up in the social life of church instead of acting as His employee?

I speak to the prophets that I know are out there and yet hide in their little caves. Read the OT again and pick out your fellow prophets. Where did they live? Were some of them hermits? Oh, yes. Not much of a social life for most of them.

Has anyone noticed the damage Jonah brought on those around him, by being so disobedient? Are we, the prophets, doing that to our families and neighbors? Are the winds about you, tearing up lives? If they discovered where the troubles were coming from, would they toss you out to sea? Remember those shipmen were idol worshippers. They didn't have to believe in Jonah's God, to be affected by Jonah's actions.

To the prophets of the Lord and His modern day dreamers, you know I'm talking to you. The day is at hand and time will soon be gone. Notice, I didn't say 'the' time, I said 'time'.

Your relationship is with Him, not the pastor or the choir or the socialites. The fact is you ARE a loner on most plains.

Remember Jonah's story ended with him still loved by God but his reward was appropriate. His reward was a demonstration.

Judy Sims