The Thanksgiving holiday in the US has passed. This week people are asking, “Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving?”
Most of us answer in the affirmative regardless of how messy our lives are. Life is filled with stuff. Issues. Sometimes though the question “Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving?” implies that to give thanks we must be happy.
The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
In everything. Not for everything. Give thanks just because it is God’s will. Giving thanks to God leads us to victory!
And there is power when we give thanks to God when we are at our lowest of lows.
Let’s look at Jonah’s life…
Jonah was called by God the go share the gospel to the people in Nineveh. However, Jonah decided to flee from the Lord by buying a ticket on a ship to a city in the opposite direction of where he was instructed to go.
However, the Lord caused an awful storm to arise. In survival mode, the crew members tossed cargo overboard in hopes of keeping the ship in tact. Meanwhile, Jonah is down in the bottom the ship asleep.
The captain found Jonah and said, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish” (Jonah 1:6 NASB).
The crew cast lots to find out who on board the ship was responsible for storm. When it fell on Jonah, he admitted he was running from the Lord. The crew became terrified, so Jonah presented them with the best possible solution—to throw him overboard in to the sea.
Once the crew tossed Jonah into the sea, the storm ceased and the waters calmed down.
Jonah did not experience death, but the Lord arranged for Jonah to be swallowed by a fish.
My friend, I don’t know what caused Jonah to run from God and not follow through on his God given assignment.
But since the Garden of Eden, whenever someone is out of the will of God, people try to hide from God.
Psalm 139:7-8 reads, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”
There is no where to hide from God!
In Jonah 2, Jonah’s prayed from inside the belly of the fish. He acknowledged that his disobedience imprisoned him in the depths of the sea. And then he prayed…
“But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9 NASB).
Then the Lord caused the fish to spit Jonah out on dry land and Jonah went on to fulfill his God-ordained mission.
My friend, I’ve run from the Lord, but His grace captured me and led me to repentance. Because of my not-so-pleasant circumstance of having an incarcerated son I ran in the opposite direction God called me to go. I found myself in the belly of the fish in the form of depression, anxiety, and fear. That’s not God’s will!
Once I repented and offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the Lord freed me. Now my desire is to please Him and do His will for my life.
Due to not-so-pleasant circumstances in your life, are you running from God’s will for you? We run from God by avoiding Him and not doing what He’s asked us to do.
If we’re out of the will of God, we may have a “belly of the fish” experience. To be released, we must repent and offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
We all have a purpose and a calling from God to fulfill (see Psalm 139:16). The Lord is returning soon and “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2). We must be about HIS business to advance the Kingdom of God.
Stop hiding and trying to run from God as it won’t work. To find release from your “belly of the fish,” repent and offer Him the sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Then take steps toward your calling.
Let’s pray…
Lord, I come to You today and offer to you my sacrifice of thanksgiving. You have a plan and purpose for my life and I confess I have avoided your calling. Lord I ask You to forgive me and let me experience Your salvation, which is Your rescue and deliverance from my present circumstances. I have a heart to do Your will and share Your good news with those in my life. Your plans for me are much better than anything I can think of or imagine. Thank You for guiding me and leading me to follow You. In Jesus name, Amen.
