Can you hear me now??

So, do you remember a couple years back that Verizon commercial gimmick …”Can you hear me now?”

Ever get the feeling God might be saying that to you but your frequency channels are a little distorted??  Or better said,  maybe you just keep  “dropping the call”?  Has God pointed something out in your life that He wants you to REMOVE or CHANGE and you are just casually muddling around in it??  After all, it’s nothing bad, or nothing earth shattering!  You haven’t really taken it TOO seriously because it’s really no big deal?   Let me ask you something….when you were growing up and your parents told you to NOT DO SOMETHING or remove something from your life….why do you think they did that?  A good parent speaks from a place of wisdom and guides their children to a solid place.  So, with that understanding, wouldn’t God our Father, maker of HEAVEN AND EARTH…..OH AND MAKER OF YOU….knowing the end from the beginning….guide you?  Clearly ….YES!!  So, why is it that your still muddling around with that “thing” God has clearly told you NO about??  Now, please understand…..when I am sharing with you about the things of God, that’s exactly what I’m doing…sharing….it’s what God is talking to me about! It’s what He’s trying to guide, and teach me about!   So, if your messing around with something that you shouldn’t be ….doesn’t have to be a bad thing, it’s just something God says NO to….I think it’s time to make a conscious decision to STOP!!  When you read Psalm 91,  it is clear God has protection provided for us….IF….YES, IF,  we listen to His direction!!  Yes, there’s grace but within reason…GRACE cannot be abused or confused.  You can not deliberately continue expecting a pass forever!  Eventually, we will be held accountable!

In the book of Jonah, we see a vivid picture of what happens when we REFUSE to do what WE KNOW  God has said to do!  By the way, just a side note…..Dispositionally, Jonah’s name represents a STRONG–WILLED, FRETFUL, POUTING, HASTY …..ummmm yea,  little child!!  Because that’s exactly how we are acting while refusing to do what we are told!!  Most of us know the “Jonah and the whale” passage…..Jonah (The Lord’s prophet) was told by the Lord to go to Nineveh to deliver a message of repentance and a promise of mercy if they responded affirmatively.  Jonah apparently decided that wasn’t a good idea!  So, he went the opposite direction! Our deliberate disobedience always takes us in THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION that God intended for us to go!!!  His intention is to always direct us to a strong, stable place….EVEN WHEN WE DON’T KNOW THE “WHY” BEHIND IT!!  Remember when your parents would say, “Because I said so”….. you didn’t always SEE WHY your parents said no,  but they had the wisdom for long haul!!

Now, there is a ton to learn from this entire book of Jonah, but let’s just stop here for now and get a few things straight!!!  Is God talking to you, nudging you, pushing you, or like in my case, knockin’ you upside the head about something your suppose to do or not do??  Are you being STRONG-WILLED, POUTY, HASTY IN YOUR ACTIONS like Jonah??  Well, I guess God is saying….IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE!!  Grace and Mercy are available to us but we have to willingly and trustingly obey our Father who knows best!!!

  CAN YOU HEAR HIM NOW????