NEW YEAR CLEAN
Jonah 1
Vv. 3b-4: “After paying the fare, he [Jonah] went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.”
“Benjy! Danny!” The 3rd grade twins were in big trouble. After making a mess in their playroom, they decided to play outside. Their Mom demands better, and the twins will figure that out. But first they must endure the storm.
Unwrap the Gift devotion showed Jeremy, their 5th grade cousin, scolding them to clean up the discarded Christmas wrapping paper from the playroom floor. It seems, instead, that the twins are picking up the practice of not cleaning up after themselves. If their Mom has anything to say about it, this unwanted action will stop before it becomes a bad habit (HAB-it means routine pattern or practice).
Just like our parents show displeasure at some things we do, the Lord also has ways of getting our attention. Our heavenly Father only tolerates silliness to a point—before the storms come—just like earthly parents. Before silly, or stupid, becomes habit, the Lord often teaches action correction. But humankind is stubborn. We only learn the lesson, or get scrubbed clean, through storms.
Stormy circumstances shake loose bad habits (like smoking) that the Lord insists we end. Storms cleanse. They come unexpectedly, and in surprising ways. Nature uses storms like tornadoes, to rid trees of dead branches. Jonah’s storm finally ended when he was puked out of the fish’s mouth onto dry land (Jonah 2:10). God is patient, and gives us as many chances as it takes to learn lessons of living right.
But after storms, there’s always a mess to clean up. Stormy situations turn lives upside down. The Lord uprights us on solid ground, wrong practices now discarded. People clean up tornado wreckage to reveal sparkling lawns. Jonah went to Nineveh and preached repentance of sin, and the people were saved from the Lord’s destruction. Storms make new starts clean.
2012 is a fresh beginning. Won’t you give up bad habits—like bitterness, anger, and evil speech—BEFORE the Lord cleans you up through storms? (Ephesians 4:31).
Take Home Nugget
John 15:1-4 shows Jesus as the vine, God’s kids as the branches, and our heavenly Father as the gardener. Every branch that does not produce fruit gets cut off (yikes!). Those branches that do produce fruit He prunes to make even more fruitful. Let each of us develop good habits that produce plenty of good fruit for God’s kingdom.
Lord help me to produce good seeds
Through good habits
That are pruned into good deeds.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, WORLD!
J.D. Griffith
A personal, private lesson experience with our staff
Written for http://www.biblestudyforkids.com/
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