You Oh Lord did hear my voice.
Salvation is from the Lord I will rejoice.
In Running from God my life’s a mess.
I called to you in my distress.
You Oh Lord did hear my voice.
Salvation is from the Lord I will rejoice.
I cried to you from the depths of the sea
The weeds and the water encompassed me.
You Oh Lord did hear my voice.
Salvation is from the Lord I will rejoice.
You brought my life up from the pit.
My prayer arose and to you I commit.
You Oh Lord did hear my voice.
Salvation is from the Lord I will rejoice
The Jonah Syndrome
by Jim Grayson
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The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
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But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)
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"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Mark 8:34,35 (NIV)
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)
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"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Mark 8:34,35 (NIV)
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“My Beloved, it is said, ‘If the shoe fits, wear it,’ so I direct this to those for whom the shoe fits: what is holding you back from following Me? Are you a modern day Jonah? I ask this not with anger but with gentleness and love, for it is My will for you to be happy in Me and many of you are on the fringes and happiness has eluded you. There is no peace in you and you know why, too…you have not loosed yourself entirely into My loving hands but have held back from Me because you have allowed something to stand in the way, something to stand between us and nothing should ever stand between you and I, between you and your God.
What is it that stand between us, My Loved One? What is the ship you have used to ‘escape’ Me? There are many ways one can try to avoid Me and my plans for your life, many justifications one may use but none of them hold up when I shine the Light of the Cross on them, for then they become what they are: mere excuses and none of them are valid.
My children use many excuses not to follow Me when I call them, and make no mistake, each and every one of My children are called to follow Me, not only those in what you refer to as ‘ministry’. You are called to follow Me each and every day of your life until I say your time on this earth is complete. You are called to follow Me, to touch those I place in your daily path, to encourage those who are desperately seeking it, to walk in the realm of miracles, to call those who are lost into a glorious new future with Me, but you can do none of this if you do not answer My call to you.
What is your excuse, My Beloved? You need to look deeply and honestly into your heart of hearts to see what is truly holding you back. Some of my children use their place in life as an excuse to lag back and not obey My call; they use their children, their family, their problems in life, their past, their career, their fear of the unknown…all of these are used and more. Some of My children have sickness in their body and use that as an excuse not to follow Me, for there is a certain ‘security’ the enemy brings to one’s sickness and before long, that sickness ‘belongs’ to them and it becomes their existence, instead of Me being foremost in their life. They say, “I am sick and cannot do anything for God.” To you, I say this- I can use you wherever you are. All I ask of you is for you be willing to be used. I can take a life which has become dreary with disability and pain and make it something beautiful…and you can find your own healing even as you break free to follow Me. That is My will for you.
So now, Beloved, the question is before you- Will you follow Me? Will you continue to hold back? I say this to you, if you do follow Me I will be with you every step of the way, encouraging you, showing you the way and I will make your life a thing of wonder, placing a song in your heart which will last for eternity. That is My promise to you. Come now…hold back no more. The call is still real and for today- Follow Me and leave the Jonah Syndrome behind along with the failures and pain of yesterday. Follow Me and see what glorious events lie before you,” says the Lord.
“My Beloved, it is said, ‘If the shoe fits, wear it,’ so I direct this to those for whom the shoe fits: what is holding you back from following Me? Are you a modern day Jonah? I ask this not with anger but with gentleness and love, for it is My will for you to be happy in Me and many of you are on the fringes and happiness has eluded you. There is no peace in you and you know why, too…you have not loosed yourself entirely into My loving hands but have held back from Me because you have allowed something to stand in the way, something to stand between us and nothing should ever stand between you and I, between you and your God.
What is it that stand between us, My Loved One? What is the ship you have used to ‘escape’ Me? There are many ways one can try to avoid Me and my plans for your life, many justifications one may use but none of them hold up when I shine the Light of the Cross on them, for then they become what they are: mere excuses and none of them are valid.
My children use many excuses not to follow Me when I call them, and make no mistake, each and every one of My children are called to follow Me, not only those in what you refer to as ‘ministry’. You are called to follow Me each and every day of your life until I say your time on this earth is complete. You are called to follow Me, to touch those I place in your daily path, to encourage those who are desperately seeking it, to walk in the realm of miracles, to call those who are lost into a glorious new future with Me, but you can do none of this if you do not answer My call to you.
What is your excuse, My Beloved? You need to look deeply and honestly into your heart of hearts to see what is truly holding you back. Some of my children use their place in life as an excuse to lag back and not obey My call; they use their children, their family, their problems in life, their past, their career, their fear of the unknown…all of these are used and more. Some of My children have sickness in their body and use that as an excuse not to follow Me, for there is a certain ‘security’ the enemy brings to one’s sickness and before long, that sickness ‘belongs’ to them and it becomes their existence, instead of Me being foremost in their life. They say, “I am sick and cannot do anything for God.” To you, I say this- I can use you wherever you are. All I ask of you is for you be willing to be used. I can take a life which has become dreary with disability and pain and make it something beautiful…and you can find your own healing even as you break free to follow Me. That is My will for you.
So now, Beloved, the question is before you- Will you follow Me? Will you continue to hold back? I say this to you, if you do follow Me I will be with you every step of the way, encouraging you, showing you the way and I will make your life a thing of wonder, placing a song in your heart which will last for eternity. That is My promise to you. Come now…hold back no more. The call is still real and for today- Follow Me and leave the Jonah Syndrome behind along with the failures and pain of yesterday. Follow Me and see what glorious events lie before you,” says the Lord.
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Jim Grayson, Lexington Kentucky, A Freshening Wind
1 comment:
ahh...thank you for always pointing me in the right direction! Have a Happy Week.
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