BBD 08.06.13 Life in Reverse (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional
Classic from 2006
08.06.13
Life in Reverse
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their
wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish
from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to
Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to
Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. - Jonah 1:1-3.
In Australia, a 23-year-old man has gotten into some
trouble because he drove his car in reverse 48 kilometers before he was stopped
by police officers. The man had planned to drive an additional 90 kilometers to
his home but was prevented from doing so by the officers. He will be charged
with, "reversing a vehicle further than
necessary" along with some other
unnamed charges. According to the officers, the man was traveling in reverse
gear because it was the only gear that was working in the car. The transmission
was almost gone except for the one gear.
Jonah should have been charged with "reversing his life further than necessary." We can understand why Jonah did not want to evangelize
those wicked Ninevites. They were evil people who struck fear into all who encountered
or heard about them. The Ninevites would do horrible things like skinning
people alive and putting them up on stakes outside of the cities they captured.
We would not have wanted to go to Nineveh either. I would not have wanted to go
because of the "fear" factor. I would have been a little
concerned that they might do the same thing to me. Jonah, however, never
indicates that he is afraid of the Ninevites.
Instead, he is just concerned that God will spare His
wrath if the people of Nineveh are warned. When this was what God actually did
Jonah had this to say to God, "But it
displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD,
and said, 'Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country?
Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and
merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents
from doing harm (Jonah 4:1-2).'"
The good thing that we can say about Jonah is that he did
finally get his life out of reverse. Of course, he had to be thrown overboard
in a raging storm, be swallowed by a "great
fish", and spend "three days and three nights" in the "belly of
the fish" - before he shifted gears.
Jonah after his attitude adjustment at the hand of God
prayed, "When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. Those
who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You
with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of
the LORD (Jonah 2:7-9)."
Jonah is not the only one in the Bible to have lived life
in reverse. We have some great examples and some very sad examples. King Saul
started well but shifted into reverse and got stuck. King David started out
well but did shift into reverse with his adultery and the murder of Bathsheba’s
husband Uriah. However, David when confronted with his sin by Nathan the
prophet did change gears and we have his great prayer of repentance in Psalm 51.
David gives a wonderful example of how to change gears
from reverse to forward when he prays, "Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the
multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my
transgressions, and my sin is always before me (Psalm 51:1-3)." "Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me
hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your
face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart,
O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:7-10)."
If you have been living your life in reverse you may want
to make David’s prayer your prayer. Remember God is still God and He is still
capable of giving an attitude adjustment (Hebrews
12:5-11) to His children if it is necessary.
Copyright © 2006-2013. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
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