The Land of Beginning Again

With apologies to Louisa Fletcher...

The Land of Beginning Again
Song for the Fish’s Belly

For Jonahs of every age there’s a place
Called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where willful mistakes and stubborn heartaches
Rank rebellion and selfish old pride,
Can be dropped, like a string of seaweed, on the beach,
And never cling to us again.

Perhaps it was something we refused to do,
And we think we’ve repented too late
Of praises unspoken and promises broken,
And multiple lives have been hurt -
Even “Ninevites” who were depending on you
And me to escape judgment’s fate.

But runaway "prophets" like us can return
To the center of His plan.
For the God we ignored, disregarded as Lord,
Is the God of the Second Chance.
He is calling out still from Calvary’s Hill –
That true Land of Beginning Again.

No matter the years and the tears and the fears
Time lost and memories past,
Now is the time, opportunity prime,
To bow down and make it right,
Tell the God we’ve not heeded we’ll do what is needed,
Give obedience willing and fast.

Yes, Jonahs, there is a wonderful place
Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where willful mistakes and stubborn heartaches
Rank rebellion and selfish old pride,
Can be dropped, like a string of seaweed, on the beach,
And never cling to us again.

Deep-Sea Prayer

Isn’t Jonah unbelievable? Referring to himself twenty-six times in an eight-verse prayer? How could anyone be that fixated on himself?

C’mon, let’s be honest. We can relate to prayers like that! I can, at least. It’s biblical, isn’t it? “Pour out your hearts to him,” the Psalmist David urged. But then he went on to add, “for God is our refuge” (Ps. 62:8 NIV).

That’s a very important addition, for the one thing can save our fishbelly prayers from becoming merely a time of venting, of self-expression, of self-fixated monologue, is to see God for Who He is. To recognize Him as loving and welcoming and immense and powerful and wise and the Rock in which we can always, always hide.

So by all means let’s keep pouring our hearts out to God. Let’s use “I,” “me,” myself” and “mine” twenty-six times if we need to. But let’s at some point pause and look around at our refuge, and really see where we are. We’re not just trapped in a crisis, surrounded by the disturbing sounds of ourselves being digested… we’re inside of God! He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble, He never leaves us or forsakes us, He takes complete responsibility for us, He watches over all that concerns us, He is sovereign over circumstances, He has good plans for us and not evil ones, and He surrounds us on all sides with impenetrable protection and holds us there until deliverance comes. Whew! What a wonderful God He is, and how wonderful is His heart for us!

If Jonah had really, really looked at God, he might have dropped of few “I’s” and “me’s” and added some “Thee’s” and “Thou’s.” He might have seen how unlike God he was and torn his slimy robe in the anguish of genuine repentance for his rebellion. His heart might have been broken with compassion for the people of Nineveh, moving him to obey God out of desire rather than coercion. And it might have changed the way his story ends.

A fresh vision of God. It would have done Jonah a lot of good, and it won’t hurt us any, either.

Preparing for the Whisper

“The word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai”…

Lucky Jonah. God never speaks to me, we lament. I need direction, but I don’t hear His voice. I want to get closer to Him, but He seems silent. I’d like to do something for Him, but He never gives me any instructions. Why?

I think it’s sometimes because of His mercy. If He told us clearly what direction He wanted us to go, He knows we would balk. If He drew close to us and whispered the truth He really wanted to say, He foresees our defensive protests. If He assigned us the task He longs give us – the work He’s designed and gifted us for – He know we’d scoot in the other direction, just like Jonah.

He’s sparing us the bad decision and the broken relationship and the consequences… the storm and the sinking and the fish. If He spoke and we didn’t respond, it would only increase the distance between Him and us. Our excuses and rationalizations would harden our hearts.

I don’t know why God spoke to Jonah when He knew the response He would get – except that He loved Nineveh so much He had to let them know. And He had lessons for Jonah – and for us. One lesson is this: Those who hear God’s voice need hearts that are ready to receive what He says, to believe His truth, to accept His guidance, to act on His instructions. Otherwise we are far worse off than we were before. This should not make us afraid to hear from God; it should remind us that His whisper is not to be taken lightly.

Do we long to hear that whisper? Do we want the word of the Lord to come to us? Then we must get our hearts and minds ready. We must ask for receptive and obedient spirits, so that whatever He says to us, we will do – His way, in His time, for His purposes, in the power of His Spirit. Then the word of the Lord can safely come to us… and we will be blessed, others will be helped, and He will be honored and worshipped and glorified.

Keeping Pace

Can two walk together unless they be agreed? (Amos 3:3) A.W. Tozer has pointed out that for two people to walk together there must be agreement on at least a few major points:

They will have to agree whether they want to walk together. There must be some kind of compatibility; they must have something in common.

They must be agreed on the direction. If one man is going north and one is going south it is a physical impossibility that they could walk together.

They must be agreed on their destination. If they were aiming for two different cities, they would have to separate somewhere on their journey.

They must agree on what path they want to take. There might be a dozen paths to where they are going, and if they are going to stay together they are going to have to take the same path.

They will have to agree on the rate of speed. If one walks very rapidly and the other saunters along, they might ultimately get to the same place but they could not go together because they could not agree on the rate of speed.

Tozer’s insights are very helpful to me when I think about keeping pace with the Holy Spirit, walking in step with Him. It helps me realize I need to continually agree with the Spirit that, yes, I want to walk with Him, I want to go in the direction He’s headed, I want to share His ultimate goal for this journey, I want to follow in the specific path He’s taking to reach that goal, and I want to travel at His pace.

It might seem like an unduly strict discipline, this devoting every second and every step to following His leading. For sure, the enemy will tell us it is unnecessary and impractical and it will stifle our dreams and dry up our potential… but here’s what Satan won’t tell us:

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). Somehow, in the wonderful, indecipherable way of the Kingdom, when I follow closest, I am freest. When I share the Spirit’s goal, I reach my greatest potential. When I travel at His pace, I accomplish the most. When I agree with His leading, doors open into places I’ve never dreamed of.

When I fall into step with Him, we walk together, in triumph, into glory.