S6 Bonus 2 | Sometimes God DOES send the storm: Lessons from Jonah
In this week’s bonus episode, Carla shares an “aha” moment she’s had from her current Bibe study - looking at the book of Jonah.
We often are told that God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to his children. And while it’s true that God doesn’t send evil - we learn from the book of Jonah that God will indeed send a storm - to save us from spiritual ruin. You see, God is much more concerned with our spiritual health then momentary physical discomfort.
God pursues us in our disobedience and will, in his mercy, sometimes send storms to draw us back to his protection.
Can you discern what type of storm you are facing right now?
Understanding Storms:
Not all storms are necessarily bad; some may be sent by God out of love and mercy.
Reflect on the type of storm you're facing: a call for protection or a call for repentance and redirection.
God's Pursuit in Disobedience:
God pursued Jonah in his disobedience, sending a storm to prevent spiritual decay.
Recognize God's pursuit in your life, even in challenging times.
Discerning God's Voice:
Spend time in the Word and prayer to discern God's voice amid the various voices in your life.
God's voice brings peace, repentance, and is gentle; learn to distinguish it from other voices.
Learning from Jonah:
Dive into the book of Jonah for a deeper understanding of God's mercy and grace in the midst of disobedience.
Action Steps:
Reflect:
Evaluate the storms in your life; discern whether they require calling out for protection or repentance.
Seek God's Voice:
Spend dedicated time in prayer and the Word to recognize and understand God's voice in the midst of life's challenges.
Read Jonah:
Explore the book of Jonah for insights into God's pursuit, mercy, and the purpose of storms in our lives.
Remember, storms may not be pleasant, but they can be a means through which God works for our good and His glory.
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Join In His Image Wellness Collective ---> carlaargeswellness@gmail.com
Come hangout on IG with me @carlaarges
Check out the blog
TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Did you know I offer one on one mindset renewal sessions? Maybe you feel unclear about God's call in your life because of all the other noise around you. Maybe you are stuck in a constant comparison cycle, or maybe you can't silence the negative self loathing thoughts that keep invading your mind. In my one on one sessions, we use biblical truth to rewire your mind, take your thoughts captive, and move in confidence where God is calling you.
[00:00:33] Carla: Send me an email at carlaargeswellness. com to find out more. You'll leave with the tools you need to rewrite the script in your head and take control over your life. Again, email me at karlaargeswellness at gmail dot com. And I'll send you all the information you need to get started. I cannot wait to hear from you.[00:01:00]
[00:01:02] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to affirming truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles and happiness. Grow in faith and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:01:25] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hello, friends. Welcome to this bonus episode of Affirming Truths. You know, every Thursday is bonus. Sometimes it's a bonus with an interview, and sometimes it's just me. And today, it's just me. And I wanted to share a big aha moment I've had in studying the book of Jonah.
[00:01:52] Carla: Um, you know, it's funny, I grew up going to church, and I grew up learning of the story of Jonah being [00:02:00] swallowed by the fish, but I had never actually read the book of Jonah myself, and there is so much richness in there. Um, first of all, I grew up seeing the story of Jonah about a cautionary tale about disobedience and God's punishment, and really, as I'm reading it through a more mature faith as I'm reading the story in a, in a better understanding of who God, our heavenly father is, right?
[00:02:37] Carla: I'm really seeing the story of Jonah less about God's punishment and so much more about his mercy and grace. But here's the other thing friends, and something I'd never considered before. I always thought, and to a large extent, I still believe this, but I always thought, you know, God doesn't. Let [00:03:00] bad things happen, right?
[00:03:02] Carla: He will use bad things for our good and for his glory, right? We know that from Romans 8 28, but God doesn't actually send bad stuff, right? He doesn't send bad stuff to his children when we are born again adopt into the family of Christ, joint heirs, um, with Christ, God doesn't send mad stuff. Now, when we sin, He will lovingly convict us by the Holy Spirit and bring us to repentance and bring us back to right living.
[00:03:32] Carla: But I've never experienced God's loving direction back home. I've never experienced God's conviction like punishment. I've always experienced it as love and grace and mercy. And as I was reading the story of Jonah, I was struck for the first time in realizing and really comprehending the fact that God [00:04:00] sent the storm.
[00:04:02] Carla: God sent the storm and I had to really sit with that for a moment and ask myself if I believe God doesn't send bad stuff to his children How do I reconcile that God sent the storm? And it made me realize that perhaps I had a faulty view of what storms could be You know, one of my favorite pictures of a storm comes from the New Testament when the Jesus says, we're going to the other side, the disciples get into the boat, Jesus is sleeping, a storm comes, the disciples are scared and they wake Jesus up.
[00:04:45] Carla: Don't you care? We're going to die. And Jesus is like, Oh, you have little faith. Be still. And he calms the storm. And this discipleship knowing if Jesus said, we're going to the other side, we're going to get there safely. [00:05:00] But in their fear, he had mercy and grace on them and calmed the storm. And so in, in having that view, I kind of always saw storms as bad.
[00:05:15] Carla: I always kind of saw storms as bad. I know certainly when I've gone through the storms of my life, they haven't felt good. They feel bad. But then I'm back to the story of Jonah and God sent the storm. So maybe not all storms are bad. They may not feel good, but maybe all storms aren't bad. And so I dug a little deeper with Jonah.
[00:05:42] Carla: You see, God called Jonah a prophet to go to Nineveh, to Gentiles, to pagans, to people that were notoriously harsh, especially to the Jews. And God [00:06:00] wanted Jonah to go there to preach repentance. And in getting repentance, getting forgiveness from God, but Jonah didn't like that. Jonah didn't want forgiveness to go to these people that he saw as evil.
[00:06:18] Carla: Jonah didn't want what he thought was just for the chosen people, the children of Israel, to be given to the Gentiles, to the pagans. And so he ran from God, and it's so funny because he's a prophet. He should know there's no running from God, but don't we do that too? Like, we should know there's no running from God, but I know I've ran from God before.
[00:06:47] Carla: I know God's called me to do something, and instead of doing it, I've distracted myself. I've done the opposite thing. In my own way, ran from God, [00:07:00] ignored his promptings, we do that, don't we? And so what did God do? See, what God could have done. Let Jonah run. See his running was sending him on the course of spiritual death.
[00:07:20] Carla: His disobedience was sending him on a course to spiritual death. Guys, that's the worst kind of death. That's eternal separation from God. And because God loved Jonah, he wanted to rescue him from his own self destruction. And so God sent the storm to disrupt. Jonah from running, to disrupt Jonah from going down the path of spiritual decay.
[00:07:55] Carla: God pursued him even in his disobedience. [00:08:00] And so, friend, we have to take this and ask ourselves, when we face storms, are these the storms that we need to call out to God for protection? Or are these the storms where we need to humble ourselves in repentance and change direction? Because not all storms are bad, God actually will, out of love and mercy, send storms to save us from ourselves.
[00:08:35] Carla: So what kind of storm are you facing right now? And here's the thing, in both cases, God's sovereignty was on display. In both cases, God's glory was on display. When God sent the storm and when God cal cal calmed the storm. And you may say, Carla, how do I know? How do I know what type of [00:09:00] storm this is? Well, this is where Holy Spirit discernment comes in, guys.
[00:09:03] Carla: And this is where getting into the Bible matters. Because how are you going to know God and know His voice if you don't spend time with Him? How we get to know God is through the Bible and through experiencing Him in our prayer life, in our day to day interactions with Him. You can't know the voice of God unless you spend time with God.
[00:09:28] Carla: And so if you want to be able to discern what type of storm you're in, You gotta get into the Word, you gotta get into prayer. This is one of the things that I will help my one on one clients with, is learning to discern God's voice. Learning how to create rhythms of getting to know God in your life.
[00:09:49] Carla: Because not only knowing God's voice for the storm is important, but there are so many voices coming at you. There's the world's voice, there's the enemy's [00:10:00] voice, there's your own human nature, will, and desire voice. And then there's the voice of God. And can I tell you that the voice of God is quiet and steady.
[00:10:14] Carla: Everyone else's voices is loud. So you have to be really attuned to picking up God's voice. Through spending time with him and getting in the word. Some ways that you can tell is like God's voice brings peace. It doesn't make you feel rushed. God's voice brings repentance. It doesn't bring shame or condemnation.
[00:10:46] Carla: God's voice is gentle. Where other voices are accusing. Get to know the voice of God and [00:11:00]discern the storm that you're in. Do you need? Do you during this storm, or do you need God to reveal to you where you've gotten off course and how he's trying to get you to change direction? I invite you to do that today.
[00:11:17] Carla: And I encourage you, go into Jonah, read the story yourself, get some of that richness from there. Alright friends, I'll talk to you later.
[00:11:32] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye friends.