This blog post is dedicated to the 7,000 (you know who you are) Have you ever found yourself in a predicament you never imagined? And the funny thing is you don’t even know how on God’s green earth you got there, to begin with! It’s as if you’re walking on a tightrope without a safety net and the tiniest misstep will cause you to fall into the abyss of the unknown.

Your thoughts are so scattered you feel like the scarecrow—“If I only had a brain!” No matter how much you’ve prayed and cried; cried and prayed it looks like your condition is only getting worse and there is no improvement in sight. As if you were in the very throes of hell itself. Or as Jonah so eloquently put it “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried…” (Jonah 2:1 NKJV)

Here Job comes to mind. Who didn’t do anything wrong as a matter of fact the Bible says he was blameless, upright, feared God, and shunned evil. (Job 1:1 NKJV) So for those of you who are beginning to think you did something wrong and God is angry with you—think again! Job was in his predicament because God challenged Satan. Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8 NKJV)

…there are times when satan gets just a little too much credit.

Are you in your predicament because of something God did or because of something you did? Oftentimes we want to blame the enemy for some of our troubles but there are times when satan gets just a little too much credit. We know why Job went through his trials but Jonah on the other hand was disobedient concerning God’s command. He was given a specific task and decided he was going to do just the opposite. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.  (Jonah 1:2-3 NKJV)

How does one get out of the presence of the Lord? I believe David answers this question...“If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalms 139:7-10 NKJV) The short answer—you can’t.

That’s why God sent a storm on the seas to redirect Jonah’s destination to where he was supposed to go from the beginning. But first, Jonah had to make a pitstop, in the belly of a big fish, for a memory refresher course. Is that where some of us are today? In need of a memory refresher? If so, pray. repent, learn the lesson, and move on. Not all trials in your life are from the enemy neither are they all sent to destroy you—some are sent to redirect you. A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV)

God got the glory from both situations.

Whether you are in a Job or a Jonah predicament just remember their outcomes. God got the glory from both situations. (Job 42:1-16 NKJV) (Jonah 3:5-10 NKJV) And that is what it’s all about. God getting the glory out of our situations and our understanding the lesson…But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. (1 Peter 5:10 NKJV)

Thank you so much for your continued readership and support. Until next week…Blessings and Peace!

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