FRIDAY: Back to the Beginning, and the God Who Waits There

BIG IDEA: Our own spiritual blind spots can stall out God’s mission for our lives.

Reading:

John 21:15-19 

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jonah 3:1-3

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.”

Devotional:

God speaks to Jonah a second time, giving the same command He gave at the beginning. This time Jonah rises and goes to Nineveh according to God's word.The phrase "the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time" is one of the most quietly powerful statements in all of Scripture.

God did not revise His plan. He did not lower His expectations. He did not find a more qualified prophet. He came back to Jonah, covered in the evidence of his own failure, and said the same thing He said at the beginning. Go.

The sermon captures this with a note of irony. Jonah was likely vomited back onto the shore at Joppa, the very port from which he had originally fled. All that running, all that time in the storm and in the fish, and he ended up right back where God wanted him in the first place. The shortcut cost him everything and gained him nothing except a profound encounter with the mercy he had been trying to deny others.

Perhaps you are reading this at a place that feels like square one. Perhaps you feel like you have wasted years running in the wrong direction. The God who waited on the shore of Joppa for a stubborn, smelly, self-righteous prophet is the same God who is waiting for you. His calling has not changed. His patience has not expired. The invitation is the same as it was the first time. Rise and go.

Reflection:

• Have you experienced a moment where God brought you back to a place of calling you had previously abandoned?

• What does it mean to you that God issued the same command to Jonah a second time rather than replacing him?

• What would it look like for you to rise and go today in response to what God has been asking of you?

Practical Application:

Return to what you wrote on Day 1, the area where you sensed God calling you but had been stalling. Pray the prayer from the sermon as your own: "Lord, please confront my spiritual blind spots. Forgive me for my self-righteousness. If you can save Jonah, you can save me. Forgive me of my sins and become my Lord and Savior." Then take one concrete step, however small, in the direction God has been pointing you.

Song of the Day:

 Crowder, Zach Williams - STILL