Obedience When it Hurts // Vicky Hodson

I often have the conversation of the difference between being a “Believer in Jesus” and being a “Follower of Jesus”. As some will see these two statements as one in the same, they are actually very different.

My handy online dictionary tells me; Believe simply means accept (something) as true whereas to Follow means to act according to (an instruction). It is not enough for us to simply “Believe” in Jesus.

James 2:19, tells us “You believe that there is one God, Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”

Believing in Jesus does not put us into action, but Following…that’s action.

Matthew 4:19, “Jesus said, ‘Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of people.’”

Fishers of people. Remember that nugget.

As we come to Jonah chapter 4, we have witnessed Jonah doing the opposite of following God. In fact, he is running from God. The Bible tells us that Jonah was a prophet. What is a prophet? Well I’m glad you asked! In Hebrew, the word means “spokesperson”. A prophet, is a spokesperson for God, our Father.

Telling the world of God’s messages. That was the calling God had put on Jonah’s life. We know that Nineveh was known to be savage and enemies of the Hebrews, which Jonah was. But God TOLD him to go. Go deliver the message so that they will be saved. So why did Jonah run from Nineveh when God asked him to go?

I wish I had the perfect answer for you, but I do not. As I studied this chapter it brought me to a place of self-reflection. The realization that in my humanness I often do things that are best for me and not best for the kingdom. It is easier for me to build walls and keep things away that threaten my peace the same way Jonah chose to run instead of being uncomfortable in facing his enemies.

Remember that nugget I told you to remember? Fishers of people? Building walls or running does not make us fishers of people. Instead, it can paralyze your effectiveness and delay people from entering the Kingdom of God. Ouch! Delay people from entering the Kingdom of God? There is no way I want to personally be responsible for that.

As a follower of Jesus (following His instruction), I want to be focused on Kingdom work. Even when people are rude, cruel, harsh, whatever adjective you would like to apply. God’s will is to save them all.

But why? Why does God want to save them, the evilest of evil? Simply put, we ALL are God’s creation.

Take a quick look at John 1:1-3;

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

If God created everything, who are we to mistreat any of it, including people? If we are truly followers of Jesus, we are to be like Jesus. We are to be the light. Even when our flesh says “no, protect yourself.”

Psalms 18:30, “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.”

According to this scripture, God’s way is perfect, even helping those that have sinned against us. For when we do, this tells us that God will shield us.

When we get to chapter 4, we fully understand why Jonah ran and why he didn’t want to help. In fact, we see in Jonah that not only did he initially run, but when God did bring him Nineveh, Jonah was angry that God helped them. He wanted to see Nineveh parish instead of being saved. He could not get past his own humanness, his own feelings of hurt. In fact, he would rather die than see the undeserving people of Nineveh saved.

Jonah 4:1-3, “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’”

I mean that’s pretty extreme…but what are some things we do today when it comes to our enemies? Gossip, slander, avoidance? If God is clearly telling us to go and give a message we often choose to not obey. Giving a message doesn’t always mean a verbal message. We can give a message from God in our behavior. We can treat our enemies with respect because they are Gods creation. We can stop gossiping about them, we can stop talking ill of them, and we can be open to an opportunity to be in their presence if that is what God is calling us to do.

Jonah would rather have died than to obey. If we believe and follow Jesus, we know that our sin separates us from God. Being separated from God means spiritual death. Are we being disobedient of God’s will with our enemies? If we are, we like Jonah, would rather die, in our spirit, than help God’s creation.

I encourage you today to reflect on Jonah and his actions. Do you have enemies in your life that God is calling you to share a message with? Are you willing to EXCHANGE your inaction for action and the opportunity to be used by God? Spend time in prayer with God. Heal from past hurts and move forward into God’s perfect will for your life.

Vicky Hodson

Overthinking for Obedience // Sarah Mercado

I’m an overthinker. If overthinking were a sport, I’m pretty sure I would have a few gold medals. Seriously. My mental gymnastics game is Olympic level.

Give me a task, and I will analyze all the possible scenarios and their potential outcomes before I even consider starting the task. I tend to tie myself in knots thinking through things, even staying up late at night to spend even more time thinking about the task at hand, how I will execute it and all the problems I might encounter. It can be exhausting. I may even spend some time coming up with excuses as to why I shouldn’t do it at all or who I might be able to pass it off to. I will most likely procrastinate, and maybe even just try to get out of the whole thing.

When I read the story of Jonah, I see myself in him. He was given a task, he didn’t want to do, so he made up excuses and ran from what God wanted him to do. His reasons may be different than mine, but ultimately, I think Jonah was overthinking his situation.

God told him to go to Nineveh and deliver God’s message to the people there. Jonah immediately started overthinking the situation by inserting his own feelings and opinions into it, rather than just doing what God told him to do. He ended up in a difficult and scary situation, but God in His endless mercy, gave Jonah a second chance. That is where we pick up in Jonah Chapter 3.

God tells Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh and deliver His message to the people. This time Jonah obeyed and went straight to Nineveh. He delivered the message, and the people believed it. The king humbled himself and ordered everyone in the city to turn from their evil ways, stop all their violence and pray earnestly to God, in hopes that God would change His mind and hold back His anger from them.

“When God saw what they had done and how they put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah 3:10

Ultimately, God decided not to destroy the city of Nineveh because of their belief in Him and the radical transformation that occurred in the people after they received His message.

This is the part that gets me. The message Jonah delivered to the people of Nineveh;

“Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” Jonah 3:4b

That’s it. The whole message in its entirety.

One sentence. Eight words. And God used it to transform an entire city for His glory.

Often when God asks me to do something, I overthink it, thinking it has to be some big, complicated thing. When all God wants is for me to obedient and trust Him to do the rest. The truth is that most times, what God wants me to do isn’t complicated at all. Much like with Jonah, it’s usually something simple and small that God wants to use to make a big impact. When I choose to obey and trust God instead of overthinking it, God can do some beautiful and amazing things.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This has been one of my favorite verses since I was a child. I often go back to it when I need a reminder of who is in control and that all I need to do is trust in Him instead of my own understanding. When I overthink something that God has told me to do, I am depending on my own understanding. If I can trust Him and seek His will instead if trying to understand everything, He will guide me and He will be able to use me to do far greater things than I can accomplish on my own.

I wonder if there is something God has asked you to do that you are running from or overthinking. If so, I pray that you would be able to EXCHANGE your overthinking for obedience and trust God’s will for your life. This is my prayer for myself as well. That we would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and obedient to what God asks us to do, trusting that He is the one in control and that He is able to take our small, imperfect acts of obedience and use them to further His kingdom.

Let’s believe this. And live it out together.

Pride for Obedience // Sarah Mercado

In my journey so far of following, loving, and serving Christ, there have been many occasions in which I was asked (either by leadership, or prompting of the Holy Spirit) to do something outside of my comfort zone. To be fair, my comfort zone is pretty small. I am an introvert and while I enjoy serving, I prefer to work behind the scenes in a more supportive role. I don’t enjoy doing anything that would put me in the spotlight or draw any attention. In fact, I would say I am resistant to those things.

So when I am asked to do something that is in an area that I would consider myself weak in, my typical response is to politely decline and/or point to someone who is obviously a better choice for such a task. Whether it is speaking, leading, praying out loud, or even writing for the Shaken & Stirred blog. My doubts, fears, and insecurities are many. What if I sound or look stupid? What if people think I’m weird? What if I stutter and stumble over my words? No, I can’t risk it. 

Recently I had someone point out to me that this may be a pride issue. Now, I’ve never considered myself a prideful person since I don’t want to be in the spotlight or have any attention on me. So, this was shocking to hear. I would tend to think of that as humility, not pride.

In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul says,

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others better than yourselves. Don’t look out for only your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

So, the truth is that, if I am sitting on the sidelines, not doing what God is calling me to do because I am afraid that I might look stupid, that is pride. I’m more worried about myself and how I am perceived by others, than I am about that person that could be reached if would just let go and let God use me how HE wants to use me. I’m looking out for my own interests instead of others and that is not humility. That is pride. 

Ouch. That was a hard pill to swallow. But then, the Holy Spirit directed me to this scripture. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 it says, 

 “Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’”

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work in me.

You see, God wants to use me in my weakness. The truth is my weaknesses are where God can use me the most. His power works best in weakness, and if I can just surrender my pride to Him, then I will get to experience His power working in me. I don’t have to try to do things in my own power, because His power works best in my weakness.

The Lord has been stirring some things in me for some time now and I have been resistant to take the leap of obedience for all the reasons I have already shared. One of those things being writing for Shaken & Stirred. So here I am. Laying down my pride. Exchanging it for obedience. Choosing to be obedient to do what God has called me to do, and to allow His power to work in and through my weakness for His glory.

Perhaps you can relate. What is God calling you to do that may be outside your comfort zone? Delayed obedience is disobedience. Where do you need to be obedient to allow God to use you in your weakness?

Sarah Mercado is a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a follower of Christ, a wife, and

mother of two. She is a small business owner, and a founding contributor of Church That Matters. When

she is not working, she can be found spending time with her family and friends, cooking, reading, or

listening to a podcast.