Yes, this is a great time to be alive! History shows us how many times society has failed to respect and honor God but His mercy endures forever.
I was reading in Jonah this morning and so I had to find a picture of a great fish! I know some believe that the story of a great fish swallowing Jonah is a fairy tale and that others believe it is some kind of metaphor. I believe it is real. My God can do anything and if He needed a big fish to swallow Jonah I have no doubt that He was able to do that.
But that’s not the focus of this morning’s devotional. It’s an even greater miracle, the miracle of mercy.
God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and tell them that He had seen their wickedness and was going to destroy them. Nineveh was a big city. It says it was so large that it took a man 3 days to walk across the it.
After the fish spit Jonah out, he went there and preached what God had originally told him to say.
“Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. 4 After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!” Jonah 3:3-4 CEV
The people of Nineveh repented. They declared a fast of repentance; everyone in the city repented. When God saw this He withheld His judgement and spared their city.
“When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.” Jonah 3:10 CEV
This is where we find Jonah in the last chapter of the book. He is mad at God because God spared the people.
“Jonah was really upset and angry. 2 So he prayed:
Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.” Jonah 4:1-2 CEV
Do you see what Jonah said to God? You are kind and merciful. You always show love, you don’t like to punish anyone. I am so thankful for that! Our God is so loving that He goes to great lengths to forgive us and draw us back to Himself.
How many times have I failed in my life of 65 years? How many times have I decided to do things my way and not God’s way? How many times have I decided not to be judgmental and then failed before the day was out?
Yet God who is rich in mercy…
“ In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.
4 But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.” Ephesians 2:3-7 ERV
God loves us!
Mercy is one of those religious words we use without thinking much about the meaning. We need to realize that mercy, God’s mercy, is defined as this: not receiving what we deserve for the wrong that we have done.
I’m not sure what areas of your life you need God to be merciful but I do know that all of us have failed and are unable to be “good enough” for God. He loves us still.
Let the words of Jonah bring us hope, joy and thankfulness this morning.
“You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.”
Thank you Lord for Your mercy and Your grace!