Alignment

From time to time, my car needs to have the alignment adjusted because of travel over many different roads, that includes bumps, potholes,rough terrain, and just overall wear. The need for alignment is gonna happen to every car after a certain time. My faith needs a realignment from time to time, what with all the same things I listed above. When we follow God's will, He will many times align us with His will and remind us through personal experiences where we need to go and what we need to do. This is what I call a pilgrimage, and this is my life at this point. Pilgrimage (def) - a journey to a sacred or deeply significant place, usually undertaken for religious devotion, spiritual growth, penance, or to show honor and respect.

The Prophet Jonah needed some realigning because he had drifted so far in his pilgrimage that he had forgotten just who was "calling the shots" in his life. God's instructions for him to go to Nineveh and preach repentance so they could get right with God were a big ask for him, but he was a prophet. A PROPHET!

In the first chapter of Jonah, we see a man whom God speaks to and wants to send to the hated Assyrian city of Nineveh. But it was much deeper for Jonah, because he wanted them to be destroyed, even the animals. Huh? Jonah 1:1The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”3But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.

Later in Jonah 3 we read the following: Jonah 3: Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: ² “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” ³ This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. ⁴ On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” ⁵ The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

God said it this time, and Jonah did it; all 120,000 repented, and they were saved, and all their animals. Jonah should be glorifying God, but he didn't. Jonah had a pity party, and here is why. Jonah 4:² So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. ³ Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” Jonah had become unaligned with God's will, and He needed to get aligned again with God's plan for him, God's prophet. Jonah was on a sacred pilgrimage to follow God, no matter what, and because of the growing wars and hate with the Assyrians, he had lost his way. God checked to see if Jonah was still a prophet aligned with God's will, and Jonah showed he was not.

What keeps us on our pilgrimage in the abundant life offered by Jesus? Time in His Word and sold-out, honest prayer. This pilgrimage we are on is a very personal pilgrimage that is different for you than for anyone else. You are the one studying God's Word, and He is speaking to you, so your pilgrimage, which is very significant, is different than anyone else's. Your fellowship with other fellowship just feeds and keeps that alignment going in the right direction, but keep in mind that Jesus gave you the Holy Spirit when you were born again, and He is aligning YOU with His will. Jesus has a great plan for your life and your pilgrimage, and you must seek Him and grow in His grace. YOU!!

The miracle happens when Jesus takes all of these people on their personal pilgrimages and melds them together in something called the church, and manifests His work in this sinful world. We need God to keep us aligned with His will, and we need others to help us grow in His will. God used a very God-sized thing to bring Jonah back into alignment, and Jonah followed God after the storm, almost drowning, swallowed by a fish, and saved, vomited on the beach where he was supposed to go. God's realignment of Jonah's priorities and His direction on his pilgrimage were very drastic, but necessary.

What will it take for you to even go on this pilgrimage that is waiting for your yes and amen? If you have been on this pilgrimage, and God changes your direction, how will you respond? God is all about calling and calling again and again, so keep your ears open so you can hear His instructions. Also, be willing for him to align your purpose for His glory. His glory! Jesus prayed this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:39. He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Aligning with God's will may not be easy, but it is always the BEST!!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren