Some Wisdom From Jonah

WED., JULY 28, 1999, 8:22 AM
FPC, ASC

Jonah is a well-established portion of Scripture, a good example of My desire to make this Holy Writ wonderfully varied. You were going to put the word Wisdom (in My title) in quotes, but I nixed that… for there is wisdom, truly, in this bizarre story. I, as Almighty God, also called Yahweh, can… and do… act when, where, how, and with whom I choose. There are probabilities that make this earth happily habitable for you humans, but I am never bound by any of these “laws.”

That is the first lesson of this short story. As God I can act in any of many ways, and you never can be sure, even if there is a logical, even scientific reason for some act or condition, that it is not Me, in action, for some purpose of Mine. This is a story that features some rather bizarre actions of Mine, telling of what I can do, beyond the “natural.”

Anther “Truth” from the Jonah tale is that I can change My mind (at least apparently… maybe even actually). I have the greatest capacity to see any situation in diverse ways… and I have allowed humans to act, finally, in ways different from what I expected. OR… I know what humans will do, and so I act and proclaim in ways to counter or to abet such actions, and thus it may SEEM that I am not consistent.

Another “truth,” which is hard to accept in a rational, somewhat scientific culture, is that I can act in ways that are miraculous. I can keep Jonah alive in a tumultuous sea and then for three days inside a big fish, praying to Me. Could this really have happened? Your cultural beliefs say No way. I say, “Never doubt the power of the Lord, your God!”

Another sort of miracle is the “turning” of the people of Ninevah from ways of living bad enough to whet My desire to destroy them all, to penitence that I seemed to accept as genuine. And I used Jonah, who must have appeared quite bedraggled after his stay in the fish, as a Jew “preaching” to Gentiles, to shout a few short “sermons”… and these brought instant contrition and acceptance of Me, Yahweh, as the “supreme God.” Again… this is unlikely, but, remember, I do have such power.

Another lesson is that you can argue, and even disagree, with Me. Accept that I may have made some statement or caused or allowed some condition that is not consistent with how you know Me. The Jonah story (like unto the Exodus story) says Confront Me with your discontent and demand that I explain Myself. It may be, as in this story, that you are wrong, that the reality is not as you see it, and that I have a right to forgive… and repent of My wrath. OR… I may hear you and actually “change My Mind” and act differently because of your boldness and insight.

Just as you, the oldest in your family, may still learn from your children, or even, grandchildren, so I value human minds and spirits, and can consider perceptions of My people, and see matters even more clearly. Just as it is not weakness of you to consider the views of those younger and less experienced than you, so I, too, see advantages in being an “interacting God.” (Actually, this is one of My major “duties,” as Holy Spirit… to interact with several, to many, of different ages, in different forms of My Spiritual Body, in different cultures, and sub-cultures.)

And yet another message from Jonah, symbolized by the vine, the sun, and the worm, is that “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” These physical “deficiencies” you are experiencing in your post 3 score and 10 years, may be just natural deterioration and loss… OR… they may be challenges to your spirit to overcome such losses and continue to focus on all I have given you, over these earth years and even now. To overcome, spiritually, even as you must accept the physical facts. (Yes, it is almost time to give decreasing heed to medical advice, letting your body be its own “best healer.”