Ironically, I was going to post this last night, but I didn’t. God has a funny way of working that way. I will start with this morning and work my way backward. Let me explain…

This morning I woke up to the news that a friend of mine who has been working in the same job for nearly 20 years had been laid off from his radio station. Now in radio years, that is a really, really long time. Plus, he was a high profile guy at the station, which is why I found out about it on a trade website.

A lot of people are finding themselves in this situation, as did I just about four months ago. Which led me to my thinking while reading Jonah. In my situation, I had been working for myself when I got the call to join up with a company that I had been with and loved. I thought it might be a new start with them, at a great group of stations and I was thrilled. When I was let go just a year and a half later, it brought me back to Jonah. When God wanted him to do something, he went in the opposite direction:

But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord sailing to Tarshish. Jonah 1:3 (NLT)

I was not trying to run from what God wanted me to do when I took that job at the radio station. In fact, I thought it was heaven-sent! But, in retrospect, I believe He had other plans for me:

The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” the groaned. Jonah 1:10 (NLT)

Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Jonah 1:15 (NLT)

What we believe are setbacks are sometimes just learning experiences for what God is really calling us to do. It is easy to get in the routine of a job, but He has perfect timing and we just have to be looking for what He has for us next. I know he is really going to work in me and I have never been more excited in my life.

I hope that this is taken as a sign of encouragement and not as making light of what has happened to others that may have lost their jobs. I know, it is hard and scary, especially if you have been doing something for a long time. I am not at all downplaying the severity of it. I am praying for everybody who might be going through this and hope that they might see God’s hand in the situation. It is incredible what we can take from His Word. Let’s keep reading to see where we can find more answers.

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As I have previously posted, I know that the dates are not matching up, but I am catching up! Previously in the Daily Read, we get to the story of Jonah and his journey in the belly of the “great fish”. Let me preface this by saying that as a child of the 80′s in Southern California, I became a fan of new wave music and one of the songs that sticks with me is “Belly of the Whale” by Burning Sensations. Ironic, isn’t it? Anyway, we all know this story and it was interesting to get the back story.

I never realized, but Jonah tried to take matters into his own hands when God told him to go preach to the people of Nineveh, knowing that they would repent and the Lord would have mercy. He wanted them to fry! So he headed to Tarshish, but before he could get there, God threw a raging storm and the sailors of the ship tossed Jonah overboard. After realizing his error, Jonah ends up in the belly of the whale! What I hadn’t realized was that he did what God said, and indeed, the people of Nineveh repented and the Lord did have mercy. This bummed out Jonah and he sulked. The lesson that he learns is that sometimes your unanswered prayers are for the greater good, like them or not. This was a fun, easy read. Time for more. Read on…

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As I mentioned before, I am keeping the title posts consistent with the read. With that being said, I decided that I will read just two passages a night until I catch up. I could try to read more, but then I won’t be able to meditate and think about what I have read. With that being said…

Previously in the Daily Read, Amos finished his book by continuing to remind the people that think their status will save them will always have to answer to God. He was even threatened for letting these people know this, but he continued on because of his faith in the Lord. One thing that I found interesting from this book was that Amos had visions from God that outlined destruction for his land, but he prayed for forgiveness and the Lord did not follow through with the visions. This is something that we have not seen from the other prophets. Why didn’t God follow through when he did with other prophets? My guess is that Amos was a shepherd and God allowed him to lead the flock, but that’s just my best guess.

As for Obadiah, he gets to tell the people of Edom that they will pay for letting the bad things happen to Israel. He holds them accountable for what they did to their neighbors. A great point is taken here because even when you are down and perhaps you are blaming somebody, if that person is truly responsible, know that it is always in God’s hands and he will make sure that justice is served. Follow Him and it will fall into place. While it was a short book, it has plenty to chew on. Read on…

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