Lessons From Jonah.. Along my way

Yesterday, on my way to a business meeting, sitting on the train, I pulled out my bible and for some reason proceeded to read the book of Jonah.

A few verses in and I started laughing not so much at Jonah's silliness and his attempt to run and hide from God, but for the fact that I know I have done the exact same thing! God says, "Remi go left" and then I go right... ! Jonah 1:1 - 3

Reading further, my emotions switched from laughter to sadness as I learnt of the effects of disobedience to our environment, to people around us. Jonah 1: 4 - 7. Jonah's disobedience caused a ferocious storm to descend on the boat he was in, putting the crew on board in great danger. For a few minutes I pondered and thought how my disobedience in the past, has put lives, both near and far in great danger... Lord forgive me for being disobedient I whispered.

I read further, and my countenance was wrapped in amazement with the knowledge that, even in our disobedience, God still works everything together for good and for His glory. Jonah 1:14- 17. The sailors were in awe of God's power. After throwing Jonah off the boat, the stormed called immediately. This made them turn to God in worship and they devoted their lives to serving him. Jonah 1:15- 16 it reads "15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him."

I kept on reading and was presented with the nature of God's mercy. In the midst of Jonah's disobedience, God was merciful enough to spare his life and he arranged for fish to swallow Jonah and keep him safe from harm and from death!

I read further, and learnt, that sometimes we have to be so lost, for us to be found. In the midst of his darkness, when he had lost all hope, Jonah turned back onto God. Jonah 2: 1-8

I thought about all the times when I felt lost and alone, yet this same feeling spurned me on to turn to God, my only hope.

I kept on reading and learnt about a God of second chances. About a God whose mercies are new every single morning.

After the fish threw up Jonah, God spoke to him again and gave him the same instructions he gave him first time. In doing so, God gave Jonah a second chance to make right, a second stab at mastering the act and skill of obedience. Now isn't that awesome? Jonah 3: 1 - 2 reads "1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you."

Jonah took that instruction and ran with it. Jonah 3: 3 reads "This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all"

Now I thought, how many times has God given me, a second, third, fourth, even 100th chances?I should learn to take up this chances and run with it, like Jonah.

I also learnt the seriousness, and ramifications of being obedience. In this case, Jonah's obedience spared the people of Nineveh from God's wrath. His obedience, made them turn from their evil ways and seek God's mercy. Their actions, which was as a result of Jonah's obedience, softened the heart of God and hence averted his anger.

Now, I am sitting on the train and wondering how many lives I might saved or how many dangers I might have averted for simply being obedient... wow!!! Thank you father!

And finally, as I came to the end of the book of Jonah, I was grinning from ear to ear for I was presented with a glimpse of the many natures of our God; a patient and gentle disciplinarian, the comforter, the loving and merciful father.

He was ever so patient with Jonah, even through his disobedience and anger. He was a gentle disciplinarian, after all he could have taken Jonah's life through the fish and being smitten by the sun, but he didn't, he kept Jonah so he could teach him some lessons of love and forgiveness; His love for us as his children and his forgiveness & mercy toward the people of Nineveh.

So, I sat there on the train, making my way to a business meeting and I whispered a prayer:

God help me to hear your voice

as you whisper deep within my ear

Open my understanding to your instructions

Enable my limbs to move in the direction of your will

Let your glory shine through my obedience for all the world to see

So how about you? What Lessons have you or can you learn from Jonah?

Have a great time perfecting the nature of obedience, whilst making God famous along the way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures by photobucket***

Guard Your Essence

The newspapers, Television broadcasts, words on the streets, in the office corridors are filled with bad news. The ever intruding and constant news is filling people with anxiety, with stress, giving way to irrational decisions and actions... all driven and propelled by the spirit of fear.

The dictionary defines FEAR as thus:

• a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. or


• To feel a painful apprehension of; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotion of alarm or solicitude

To GUARD means to:

• keep safe from harm or danger; protect; watch over
• provide or equip with some safeguard or protective appliance,
• protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend; to shelter

Fear is the latest weapon of choice the devil is using to get people in his grip and to cause more havoc in the midst of the global crises going on.

But alas, resist this fear we must. It is more important than ever to guard our hearts, minds, spirit and soul from the element of fear.

"Fear is not just a feeling, it a spirit. It is the spirit that paves the way, breaks down the door, opens the pathway, the portal of our hearts (if we let it) to other spirits."

Did you know that when fear takes residence in our hearts, it opens the doors to the most sinister spirits of the underworld. It sends invitation to spirits such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, confusion, irrational decision, anger and even death! For example, yesterday, I read in the news about a man that killed 3 generation of his family because he was depressed about loosing his investment in the global financial crises. To get to this end, it most probably started with the invasion of fear.

For some fear does not manifest in such a drastic way. It's presence is subtle and is portrayed through the change to mindset and thinking and decisions made on a daily basis. It starts with words and thinking such as: we can't, we shouldn't, we must not or we will not. It manifests through worry such as "what shall we eat tomorrow"?


So therefore, we must guard our heart from the invasion of fear as we are thought in Proverbs 4:23, which reads "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." We must do whatever it takes so that it does not take residence in our hearts, in our surroundings and in our actions.

Besides as we are thought in 2 Timothy1:7 , God has not given us the spirit of fear, so why should we harbour it? It reads "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind"

So how do we guard ourselves from fear?

We can do the following and much more:

• Decide which economy you reside in; God's or the world. I wrote a post about this called Economy of Residence. To reside in the world's economy means being a prime and easy target for the enemy. To reside in God's economy means being covered by the blood of Jesus and having enough ammunition to resist and win over the spirit of fear.

• Trust God. Isaiah 41:10 reads "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." As children of the most high God, because of the love he has for us, we must understand, know and believe that all will be okay with us.

• Feed your hearts with a daily with God's word. Romans 10:17 reads "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." We must fill our hearts, constantly with God's word; listening and reading. This will guard it when fear comes knocking.

• Be fervent in prayer and in thanksgiving: This we are thought in Philippians 4:6-7 , which reads "6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus"

• Stand on God's word. We have read it,we have prayed and declared it, now we must stand on it. Whenever fear attempts to take residence, we must stand our ground, in the knowledge of who we are with God and his word. We can learn what our response and countenance should from Master Jesus, when he was tempted by the devil as we read in Luke 4:1- 13 (please read for completion).

• Embrace a positive attitude. Our countenance and disposition should show the world that we believe in a living God, who looks after his own.

So here is me encouraging us all to, guard our very essence. Guard our hearts from the spirit of fear and all the others that comes long with it. Reside blissfully in God's economy, stand firm on His word and His promises. In doing so, God's light will shine through us, and His glory shall fill this earth, making Him even more famous in the midst of the crises we see today.

Have a wonderful time letting your light shine for all to see, making God famous along the way.

Much love

Remi Banjo

***by photobucket***