Obedience - Take 2

Jonah 3:3
“So Jonah arose and went to Ninevah according to the word of the Lord”

If you simply opened the Bible and this was the first verse your eyes settled upon, you might think, “Wow, Jonah is so obedient.” But truth be told, it took some pretty intense circumstances to prompt Jonah’s obedience. That sounds all too familiar. It is true that throughout our lives, God guides and directs us in many ways. He speaks to us concerning various actions and decisions. I wonder how many times our first response to God’s voice is an absolute “yes”.
Have you ever said, “if I knew then what I know now”? I have said it or at least thought it so many times. When I was a child, my parents would offer advice on various life choices. This continued throughout my teenage years and young adulthood. Then, many of the things they would say, made little or no sense to me. As life went on, the advice they gave proved to be dead on. I realize(a little late in many cases) that they were trying to help me avoid some tough situations. Often, it was only after I chose my own path and failed that I followed their advice. I learned the lesson the hard way. Why did I put myself in that situation? Well, my childish way of thinking could not comprehend their years of experience and wisdom. I could not see their reasoning because I had not seen the life they had already lived. I could have avoided some tough times if I would have just listened the first time.
How true that is in my walk with God. Like in the case with my parents, I cannot begin to comprehend the mind of God. Isaiah 55:9 says “For as the heavens are higher than the earth. So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” I have found myself, so often, responding to God’s voice the same way that I responded to my parents as a child. I also often find myself learning lessons the hard way. No question, that God desires the very best for all of us. He lays out the plan for our abundant life. We must actually listen and obey, though.
Jonah learned this lesson in the midst of amazing circumstances. For us, it may be disappointment or failure. For Jonah, it was near death on a ship and what seemed to be certain death in the belly of a fish. But after God demonstrated mercy, Jonah got it right. Jonah went to Ninevah as God commanded. I wonder if Jonah ever said, “if I only knew then what I know now”. Much like Jonah, God will grant us a chance to get it right, to fulfill our destiny. For us all, eliminating the “drama” and responding to God the first time brings a life of abundance.