Shan Dai Advocacy

Jonah

March 23, 2007 on 1:02 pm | In His First Bible, Old Testament, PrayerGrams |

The Lord provides and the story of Jonah is evidence to this. God provided Jonah an opportunity to be His witness. Jonah hid out in a ship so God provided a tempestuous storm. When thrown overboard, God provided a great fish to become Jonah’s sanctuary. Jonah was spit out upon the shore and God provided a second chance for Jonah to preach repentance to the Ninevites. Message proclaimed, mission accomplished and the Lord provided a vine to grow over the missionary’s head to give shade and comfort. This provision pleased Jonah. But God knew Jonah’s need was for more than his own comfort; Jonah had a need to understand God’s view of compassion. The rest of the story reads: “But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint” (Jonah 4:6-8a NIV). All provision is from the Lord and God wants His provision of restoration to reach everyone. God provides what is needed for our character to be transformed to the character of Christ—His ultimate Provision. Today, as we thank God for His many provisions, let us not neglect to thank Him for those times that He provides challenging ways to help us grow and change and be more fully aware of Him. Lord, we pray for the Shan Dai people; they receive Your provision of rain and sunlight, may they also receive the provision of Your compassion and forgiveness made possible only in Jesus.