I love to create art for my garden. A can of spray paint works miracles for me. I sprayed these two for an auction for Gideons International. It's a fundraiser to buy Bibles for the world.
Keeping God in the Loop
May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2
August 17, 2019
July 24, 2019
THUNDER - A Man on the Run, by Juanita Turner Paslay
Jonah
He perceives himself a prophet to his Jewish people.
God designs different plans for him.
Learn the price Jonah pays
when his prejudices rule his decisions.
~ Chapter 6
~
I expected the storm to calm down when
they threw me overboard. I
am certain my plan will work. Now I will take my time as I swim to shore and
board another ship headed south.
An hour into his
swim/float routine, Jonah had a definite reason to panic.
I
see a gray fantail rising high above the horizon. It is enormous!
With his eyes focused on
the frightful sea monster, Jonah continued to watch as the tail fell gracefully
under the waves of the blue expanse of the sea. The giant fish continued its
approach.
I better swim in a different direction
and stay out of its path!
A frightful sea monster
with a wide jaw full of jagged teeth headed straight for Jonah. His effort to
swim faster than the monster proved useless, even though he held the champion
record at school.
I cannot swim any faster. I think the
monster will catch me!
The unthinkable happened. The
creature overtook Jonah and swallowed him.
“O God! You chased me and caught
me. I deserted You, but You found me. Now I am locked in your dark dungeon!”
Its huge stomach cavity
allowed him to breathe, although a horrible stench made the effort difficult.
I never smelled anything so rotten. I
know I shall either suffocate or drown any moment.
The young man found it
difficult to identify what floated around his chest and his legs in the cold
darkness.
This mess feels like seaweed but moves
like a thousand tiny fish on a mission. Are they going
to suck my blood?
He spoke his thoughts.
“How long can I take in air? Maybe I am already dead. This must be my judgment
day. Is it too late to pray? Maybe I am already in the darkness of Sheol.”
I am so thirsty. When I swallow this
horrific water, I need more water, so maybe I am not dead yet.
Sometimes the rhythm of
his ride changed. From time to time waves of water rushed in, then receded.
It feels like the monster swims upward, then takes a deep
dive. I am getting dizzy!
Jonah had trouble keeping
his head above water in the small cavern, but his air supply did not fluctuate.
I
must keep the water from sloshing up my nose.
Time passed, but in his present
position, Jonah was unable to discern the duration.
I
possess no power to change my circumstances.
Eventually, he became
brave enough to talk to God.
“O God of
Israel, can You hear me? I think I am still alive.” Jonah hesitated, then because
his circumstances demanded honesty, he said, “God, I am so scared!”
He inhaled a deep breath before he continued.
“Even in this black well, I cannot hide from You,
O God. Darkness and light are both alike to You. You saw me before I was born
and You see me now in this frightening water-logged tomb.”
The young prophet
memorized the law years ago, so he quoted the lines to himself and his audience
of one—his captor. He concentrated on every word to
help take his mind off the raw seaweed stew in which he floated.
"I am the Lord your
God. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
"You shall not make
for yourself a carved image.”
It is so hard to concentrate!
"You shall not take
the name of the Lord your God
in vain.”
"Remember the Sabbath
day and keep it holy.”
He paused to take a deep
breath. I must continue talking or I shall
lose my sanity.
"Honor your father
and your mother.”
I love to quote the law. Lord, I really do love Your laws.
"You shall not commit adultery, covet, lie,
murder or steal.”
Jonah continued to recite
the sacred law and soon sensed Jehovah’s holy presence.
Not brave enough to eat whatever accumulated in the fish’s stomach, his
communion with God became bread for both his body and his soul.
If
I am not dead, death must be close.
He cried out and pleaded
with God. “O Lord, I am
more wicked than the heathen that You wanted me to warn of judgment. I am
without excuse. Can I be forgiven?”
The prejudice prophet repented and acknowledged
the shame brought on himself by his act of rebellion. His guilty feelings
eventually changed to a spirit of praise. Loud and full of emotion to God, he
sang the song of Moses that he memorized as a child, though he suffered with a
raw throat and hoarse voice.
"The Lord is my
strength and my song,
My God has become my salvation,
I shall praise Him with many songs.”
He recited parts of the law
and sang many of King David’s songs. His weak voice echoed in the dark
water-filled cavern.
Using his scratchy voice, Jonah sang Miriam’s song
with sincere affection for his God.
“Who is
like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful
in praises, doing mighty wonders?”
His repenting heart
generated quietness. Quietness became trust. Confidence in his God gave him
strength to endure God’s unknown agenda.
Again, thoughts flooded
Jonah’s mind. I accept this watery grave.
But I also perceive God might not withdraw my assignment or my calling as His
prophet.
“God, my heart is heavy
and my eyes burn like fire. Though I am in the
blackness of this monster’s belly, You dwell both in the depths of the
sea and on the highest mountaintop. All creation belongs to You which includes
both me and this gigantic fish.”
His song became his
sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise.
If only I had obeyed!
“O Lord,
I am Your servant!
I want to fulfill my
vow!”
O Lord, I am
Your servant!
“Lord, I cry out to You from the depths
of this sea. I know You hear me. I ran from your presence, but I know I will
look once again toward Your holy temple.”
Jonah’s obedience to God’s call would take him on
a long journey.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Jonah’s prison began to
move much too fast and the churning water inside the fish’s belly tossed him
from side to side, then forward and backward. He coughed and choked as sea
water went up his nose and down his raw throat. The young prophet sensed a
heavy feeling of anticipation.
Now what is this fish doing? Jonah
held his breath as he waited.
The runaway prophet did
not really expect his nightmare to end. Jonah learned a first-class lesson of
obedience plus experienced the ride of his life.
He and the giant fish
landed on the eastern shore of the Great Sea. With its last breath, the fish
beached itself with mouth wide open and ejected the prophet onto the sandy
beach.
Jonah, with his heart pounding,
laid on the beach gasping from shock. The young man breathed in and out with
shallow quick breaths. His lungs filled with clean fresh air. The exhilarating
scent intoxicated him to the extent he did not trust himself to rise to his
feet.
Eventually, Jonah stood on
his wobbly legs. “Jehovah, what just
happened?”
Then he collapsed to his
knees, face in the sand. He whispered, “Does this mean You forgive me?”
The prophet remained on his knees
for a long time. His mind whirled with a hundred questions and ideas.
Jehovah, I do not have any words to
say!
Later, an old familiar
song formed in his raw throat.
“I praise You with all my heart.
I shall tell people all the
marvelous things You have done.
I praise Your name, O Most High!”
Though his voice sounded
weak from lack of fresh water, he again rejoiced singing songs written by King David.
I still have my memory. The sea did not rob me of that. He
clapped his hands with joy and appreciation to God.
When Jonah’s voice no longer could sing, he
stood with caution again and examined himself. His skin, bleached from acid in
the fish’s stomach, hung wrinkled and waterlogged.
He chuckled to himself.
I must look a hundred years old.
After that
life-threatening experience, Jonah still wore his prophet’s robe. The cherished
coat, no longer clean, but faded and out of shape,
hung from his shoulders covered with green stain and smelled sour beyond description. He found a fresh-water stream nearby where he washed
seaweed and other unknown debris from his body and his
clothes.
After a thorough
scrubbing, the weary man sat on a boulder on the beach to rest and meditate
about his precarious situation. Drained of all emotion and not knowing where he
landed, Jonah experienced extreme hunger pangs. He watched the snowy white
seagulls fly overhead and dive into the sea to scoop up small fish to eat.
One large seagull flew at him several times,
then dropped a fish on Jonah’s head. The attentive seagull returned three separate
times. Though not delivered by a raven as Elijah experienced, Jonah accepted
this meal of fresh fish as from God. Later, that same friendly seagull
bombarded him with fresh bread from an unknown source.
God is feeding me just as He did Elijah.
Me and Elijah. Elijah and me—prophets of God!
Overwhelmed with emotion, the
young man could manage neither to sing nor speak. He dropped to his knees once
again and remained there until he recognized God’s thundering voice.
"Jonah, rise and go
to Nineveh, and deliver that message I gave you."
God must be giving me a second chance.
Without delay, the young
prophet stood tall, shoulders pushed back, and shouted to the heavens.
“I . . . "THUNDER is available on Amazon.com
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