Word for the day “Storms are teachable moments”
Jonah 1: 4 (NKJV) But the Lord [a]sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten [b]the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So, they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Learning to lead yourself is vital to your journey.
One day while on my reading my leadership emails, I read Pastor Andy Stanley sharing about self-leadership, he stated “Always remember I have participated in every bad decision that I have ever made”. This resonated with me and reminded of the need to first lead myself and then I had the possibility to influence others. Jonah, like many of us, made a huge mistake. His mistake came in his decision of deliberately disobeying God. Because of Jonah’s decision, the next part of his story took a visceral turn. “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up” (Jonah 1:4).
This storm was so fierce that the fishermen on the boat noticed something was wrong. They were trying to discover who was responsible for this calamity (v. 7). They knew this wasn’t a storm they were accustomed to. This storm was caused by someone’s misdeeds. Someone was to blame for this kind of storm. Jonah in his selfishness had caused this rain, wind, and waves to come. I think most of us have been in a similar situation in our lives. It’s one thing to experience a trying season of life, like a health issue or a death in your family. It’s quite another thing when your storm or trial is your own volition.
Storms often remind us of our ultimate need for God.
Sometimes the wrong decisions we make on the way to our dreams, or the things we do when we try to accomplish something our way. In fact, being selfish can even threaten the destruction of those around us. And sometimes it’s by God’s grace that there even is a storm to warn us. Often, storms we face are not to hurt us but to help us. Storms often help us to see all we have left is God. Yes, the Lord is ready to intercede in our worst moments so that he can get our undivided attention. And God uses all of this to lead us to his great plan for each of our lives.
No matter what wrong decisions you’ve made or detours you’ve taken on your journey with God, it’s never too late to lift up your voice to him. Jonah realized in the belly of the fish that he had messed up; he had done the exact opposite of God’s will. You might be realizing, “I messed up my marriage,” “I hurt my family,” “I started being selfish again,” “I went too far,” “I was not honest about something,” or “I did something I said I would never do again.” Jonah’s story is evidence that these types of bad decisions don’t disqualify you from God’s dream for your entire life.
Point to ponder
“Sometimes we win and sometimes we learn” can be your new philosophy and are words I learned from my John Maxwell leadership team. Whatever it is, you made a bad choice about, go and get it right while it’s still time. Hope you are having a transforming lent season.
Special thanks!
Pastor James Baker, Jr. and our leadership team are especially thankful for those of you who provided financial donations and support in the month of March 2021, by partnering with us in efforts to advance the kingdom of God in this 21st century season: Special thanks to Ms. Annette Straker, Ms. Rita McGuffin, Mr. Kenneth Washington, Ms. Mable Bazemore, Ms. Evonne Bazemore, Ms. Evelyn Rosado, Ms. Itholear Abbott, Mrs. Barbara Mason, Ms. Jeanette Grant, Ms. Angela Battle, Pastor Raymond Phillips, Mr. William Jones, Ms. Angie Scraders-Murphy, Mr. Calvin Jackson, Mr. Calvin Griffith, and Ms. Gertrude Scott.
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Kingdom Blessings,