Known Day 6 El Chuwl


Jonah 3:1-4:11
Psalm 139:13-18
Romans 12:1-2
El Chuwl
The God who gave you birth.
I love how the Lord moves and orchestrates all the elements of my life, including this Journey Study. Before I truly quieted my heart to listen for the Lord’s direction, I had multiple ideas for where this study may have gone and I guarantee Jonah’s story (an ordinary Hebrew man, commissioned by God to deliver a call to repentance to one of Israel’s fiercest enemies) was not one of them.
Yet within Jonah’s story, I found the Lord’s heart beating for His creation.
More often than not, I have read the book of Jonah primarily from Jonah’s perspective and considered how it related to my life. However, as I pondered El Chuwl, I saw the four chapters in a new light.
All genuine Christ-followers have two births: our physical one and our spiritual one. Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, a religious leader whose curiosity was sparked by Jesus’ stunning teaching and ministry (John 3), is a great place to begin to comprehend just what the Lord means by being twice birthed.
Our physical births are denoted by our birthdays. Each year, we mark the time we have spent on earth, and declare ourselves another year older. Even before our physical births, the Lord knew us in the womb. Psalm 139 says He knit us together; His involvement in our physical births was deeply intricate and intimate.
Scripture is clear that His involvement in our spiritual births is equally intricate and intimate. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44) “For He (Father) chose us in Him (Christ), before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4) Our spiritual births take place when we ask the Lord to be our Savior, to forgive our sins, and we surrender control of our hearts to Him. (1 John 1:9) We are born into His family and now have eternity with Him as our secured future.
I had my spiritual birth when I was a pretty young child, so I don’t fully remember all the elements occurring in my life at the time. However, I do remember my older brother starting his life with the Lord two weeks before I made my decision. I watched him over those two weeks to determine if I wanted to make the same choice. Thankfully, I did, and I have a vivid memory of the moment I prayed to the Lord.
For those of you who became a Christian later in life, what was your story?
Can you look back over your life and see the fingerprints of God leading you towards Him?
The Lord is an involved Father and He watches over His children and His children-to-be.
This leads us back to Jonah.
After literally running away from the Lord (Jonah 1) and spending time in the belly of a great fish rethinking his choices (Jonah 2), Jonah finally obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh, where he obediently declared the coming destruction from the Lord. (Jonah 3) When the Ninevites actually repented, Jonah grew angry at the Lord’s mercy for a wildly undeserving people. The Lord’s response in chapter 4 stopped me in my tracks and spoke directly to my heart.
The Lord is intensely for us; if you’re breathing, His heart is to draw you near. Jonah was ready to watch the city of Nineveh and all of its inhabitants burn, but the Lord saw His creation. When the people of Nineveh repented, the Lord’s righteous anger turned to sovereign grace.
For some in Nineveh, that may have been the moment of their spiritual birth; only the Lord truly knows. Regardless, the Lord proved His faithfulness to everyone who had experienced a physical birth in Nineveh by sending Jonah to get their attention and challenge them to change their ways.
The Lord’s character is consistent, and I know He has not changed throughout the years since Jonah walked the earth. (Hebrews 13:8) His heart is still for His creation, and He still longs for us to walk with Him. He is the God of Life who gives us both of our births.
So how do we respond?
I think Romans 12:1-2 lays out a plan of action quite well: offering ourselves to the Lord and renewing our minds moves us closer to walking with Him.
I imagine a toddler reaching up for her father, asking him to pick her up. She may even use the innocent phrase, “hold you.”
This faith like a child rises up within me as I comprehend just a hint of the Lord’s heart for the Ninevites, which brings the realization of the Lord’s intense love for me too.
So Lord, I turn to You. Thank You for being the God who gave me both my births. Thank You for loving me and leading me each day since. I surrender my will and life again to You today. Transform me and renew my mind. I turn my eyes to You and raise my arms. Hold me, Abba!
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