I have been struggling with something over the last few weeks that has my mind in a quandary. I was approached with what seems to be an awesome opportunity, but it will take me out of an already awesome situation that I really enjoy being in. To be honest, I am comfortable. I don't feel the need to go anywhere because of where I'm at.

When I pray about the situations, I don't feel any kind of resolution. I just feel the need to really seek and understand God's will. Should I feel that I am entitled to resolution so that I know without a doubt what God is calling me to?

In trying to understand things, I read Jonah this morning. At first glance, I didn't understand his desire to see the city of Nineveh destroyed. After thinking about it for a bit, I guess that he was looking for vindication.

He had been instructed to go and preach to them, and he was punished severely when he didn't do what he was told to. That city was in a similar state of rebellion, and I guess his emotions clouded the situation. You would think that deliverance from sitting in the belly of a fish for 3days would have put things in a different light. I would have thought that he would be so strengthened by the miracle that he had just lived through that he would want to tell the world about the goodness of God. I guess that it was hard to look through his ordeal and see the hand of God.

He didn't see that God was the one that delivered him, just as He delivered Nineveh. What a pity for what could have been a tremendous experience for Jonah. Instead of finding joy in seeing an entire city spared from the penance of sin, he saw frustration that they didn't get what he thought they "deserved." Many ministers would jump at the chance to see the reaction that Jonah saw in Nineveh. It would re-energize most and spur them on for greater things for God's Kingdom. Jonah lost sight of all of that because of the mis-understanding that he had with God's will, and his own emotionally troubled state.

I gather from this that God will work through us, even though we don't understand or agree with what we are doing. My finite understanding of love and compassion doesn't diminish God's capacity for showing those same characteristics to the people that He wants me to touch. If that is confusing, I apologize. Think of it this way - a water glass can be used to give water to someone in the same way that a soup bowl can. Each vessel can hold the water, even if the soup bowl is usually used to hold soup. The difference in how they are used comes in with the intention of the user, not the vessel.

I guess that I need to take the opportunity to learn from different situations. I don't want to miss out on something that God has for me because my present situation is too comfortable. I need to remember that it is His will for My life.

I feel strongly about what is written below. I think someone that needs this prayer will come across this one day, so I will not refrain from relaying what is on my heart. I just came through what seemed like the belly of a fish for not doing what God wanted me to. I don't intend to spend the next section of my life repeating those same mistakes. If this causes offense, please forgive me.

Dear Lord, please take away this tunnel vision that I have given myself to. Continue to take away the blinders that I have put on in an effort to make myself comfortable. You have turned the heat up on this cauldron, and stirred the water of my life. I realize now that You don't want me to be stagnant and full of disease. I now know that prolonged seasons of calm water can stifle Your move in my life. I enjoy the scent of Your presence, and I remember the feeling that I had before I could feel the warmth of Your arms wrapped around me. I am beginning to remember the longing desire that was cultivated in the cold, damp grip of desperation. Your salvation satisfied that hunger in me so many years ago, but I have since forgotten that hunger pain. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me and bringing me out my state of utopia. I over-indulged in Your presence to the point that I neglected the draw to bring others to Your table. Please forgive me for that, Father. Lead me and any others that find themselves in the same situation. Let us all remember the feeling that we had before we knew you. Bring us to tears as we think of the masses that have yet to smell the intoxicating aroma of your sweet breath. Strengthen us so that we can endure the journey ahead, and provide for us when situations get us down. Jesus, be the lifter of our heads. In Your name, Amen.