What If We Aren't Right?
When was the last time you told yourself, "I was wrong" or "I need help"? What about the last time you told someone else that? We grow in life and in relationships when we can acknowledge the cost of humility and act on it. Jonah realized this when he was asked to deliver a message to people he didn't think deserved it. And yet, God made a way to remind Jonah that he wasn't always right.
The story of Jonah asks us to consider: What does it mean to trust God in a world where we need to change our minds and others do too? Here are three takeaways that remind us that trusting God might require us to change our minds.
Running from God's presence is not possible. The story of the Bible is that He made us, all of us, to be with Him. Hiding our faces from God doesn't mean that He has given up on us. His desire is to live now and forever in His presence. That can mean we have to change our minds in thinking we can do it without Him.
Running from God's call is costly for us and others. We are a communal and relational people. We live with desires to be seen and loved by those around us. When we look for good without God, our actions extend beyond ourselves and might get in the way of our relationships. God's call to partner with Him creates the space to grow in relationship with others.
God is always up to something. Changing your mind in Jesus' direction opens the door to trusting God in the unknown. Instead of staying comfortable in what we know, taking a leap of faith and changing allows us to say, "God, You know best, and I trust You."
Often, changing our minds requires realizing we were wrong. The world might tell us that being wrong means we're done, but God is always at work. He meets us in our humanity.
PRAY
God,
We pray the words of Psalm 139: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."
Amen
Dive Deeper
Maybe changing your mind starts with answering these few questions:
When has God been patient with me and rescued me? How do I need to remember and be grateful for all that God has done for me?
Where are we currently hiding our faces from God?
What have I decided is right without genuinely looking to God?