Maybe we should think ahead a little bit. Maybe we should anticipate. Maybe we should dream about options — dream about what we could do for the Kingdom of God. Mandy and I are nomadic: we like to be on the move. One of the main contributing factors for that has to do with our ability to dream about what is coming. No matter where we go, we always ask each other, “You want to live here?” We are even willing to be in places we have never visited (like that one time we moved to South Carolina). We obviously have not lived — or even traveled — to all the places we have thought about. But it seems to me that this step of dreaming is crucial in the path of obedience to God.

Jonah 1:2-3 — “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

When Jonah was asked (read: commanded) to go to Ninevah, he ran away. The Assyrian empire was a hated people — I posit that Jonah had never considered going there before. When he understood God telling him to go there it was the first time that concept had crossed his mind. It may have so baffled him that he turned and ran. We all know the story: a few days in the belly of a whale (ok, great fish) and Jonah is given another chance. This time, he goes to Ninevah. Maybe we should stay out of the belly of the whale. We all need some time in the whale, to be sure. But it seems we can often avoid it if we simply think ahead and anticipate.

We spend so much time praying and asking God to help us; we ask God to show us what is next. The problem I see is that when He does show us — and if we have never considered it — we end up in a sort of weird turmoil. Sometimes we may actually run the opposite way. If, however, we have previously considered a variety of options and then God shows us what is next, they just might match up. What peace and adventure follow when they do! The apostle Paul shows us an alternative way of doing things.

Romans 1:15 — So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

We know, from the end of Acts, that Paul made it to Rome. History tells us that this was the place he died. But reading the first chapter of Romans shows us that Paul thought often about that trip. It appears that when God provided an opportunity for Paul to go to Rome, things made sense to Paul. There was not the turmoil that surrounds us so often.

May we stay out of the belly of the whale by anticipating and dreaming. May we understand that not all of our dreams will happen, but that willingness in our minds and hearts is a step to obedience to God.

Tags: acts, dream, jonah, paul, romans

This entry was posted by zac on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.