Show Notes
We all have dreams – the house, the career, the success story that we're quietly building in our minds. And none of that's wrong per se … until the dream starts owning us, until the pursuit of happiness quietly replaces the pursuit of God.
Long ago, a man named Jonah had a plan for his own life too. But when God asked him to do something difficult – to go warn a violent enemy city called Nineveh to change its ways – Jonah ran in the opposite direction.
He boarded a ship and fled, determined to write his own story. Then a violent storm hit, and Jonah was thrown overboard. Swallowed by a giant fish, trapped in darkness for three days, he finally came to his senses. From that place of despair he prayed these words:
Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. (NIV)
Jonah realised that anything we put ahead of God – even our best dreams – becomes an idol that cannot save us. The moment we worship success, pleasure, or control, we surrender the very loyalty that anchors our lives.
Look, we all have aspirations, dreams for the future, that revolve around ourselves. The hard question we need to ask ourselves though, is this: have my dreams become my idol? Am I putting my wants above God's will?
Maybe God's asking you to stop running – to lay down that dream that's taken His place. Because the moment you turn back, you'll discover the same thing Jonah did: the God you fled from is the One who loves you, saves you and fulfils you.
That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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