Do I Have To

Posted by Dion Todd December 19th, 2016 9,512 Views 0 Comments

Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land. Yahweh's word came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.' So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh Jonah 2:10 WEB

Jonah landed on the beach and stood up, covered in fish vomit. He probably thought of going back to the water to rinse off, but knowing that fish was still out there would have been a deterrent. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh, and this time, he went.

There will be times when you don't have a choice in whether you will do it or not. When Moses pleaded with God to send someone else, God declined and sent him. When Jonah ran away from his call, the Lord brought him back on the fish express.

Saul the persecutor was struck blind on the road to Damascus, and then he became Paul the apostle. We like to believe and say that God will not intrude on your life. After all, we are in charge, but then we read about these three and many more just like them.

When I was young, the Lord told me that I would be in the ministry and to prepare myself, so I did. Then I waited for around twenty-five years. Somewhere along the way, I gave up and moved on with my life. I had many reasons why it never happened, I must have wrecked His plans for me somehow. Eventually I was no longer interested in ministry at all. No thanks, send someone else. Then the next thing I knew, our business dried up and like cattle herded through a loading chute, I found myself in the ministry.

Sometimes, God will not take no for an answer. You can run away, but He will bring you back. You can put your focus on something else, and it will disappear. You will have to align yourself with His will, and go where He wants.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I submit to You. Use me, guide me, and put me where I need to be. Speak to me in a way that I understand and I will gladly follow You. Open my mind to the scriptures like You did the disciples, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.