Day 15 (3/5)
Day 15: Finding Our Purpose
Scripture Reading: Jonah 3:1-10
Written by Beth Patterson
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
God has gifted each of us with a purpose. Jonah, a prophet, initially ignored God’s orders. He tried his best to run away, to sail away, from God. Once he decided to follow God’s calling, Jonah convinced the city of Nineveh, 120,000 people big, to repent of its sins and turn to God. When Jonah fulfilled God’s calling, thousands of hearts turned to God!
In Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell, a British Olympic gold medalist runner who had a heart for Jesus, explained, “I believe God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
What has God called you to do? Well, what gifts has He given you? What might you do that gives God pleasure?
Next, who has God put in your path? Look around your 5×5: Who needs help? A text of encouragement? A chicken pot pie? A hand to help shovel a driveway? An invitation to our church’s Easter Sunday service?
If you wonder, “Why would God choose me for this?”, perhaps you should wonder instead, “Why wouldn’t God choose me for this?”