Wednesday of the First Week of Lent - March 12

 Jonah 3:1-10.   Luke 11:29-32


My first reaction to the first reading was one of fearfulness. God is proclaiming to Jonah that he would destroy an entire city and its people. I had to read it several times before I started to realize that there was a different message, not one of anger and wrath, but a message to listen, and a call to action. Jonah was given a message, and he was called to spread that message in order to save the people of that city. 

I have been guilty of not making enough time for God. Some days I feel like I am just bouncing from one activity to another. By the end of it I find I am so tired I turn to my cell phone or the television to “zone out.” Many days are filled with thousands of decision points, and not each decision is the “right” decision. Worst of all, in some of those decisions I commit sin. In some of those decisions, consciously or not, I do not make an attempt to include God or listen. 

Jonah listened to God‘s message first and then took on a decisive action, traveling through a large city for three whole days. It’s not an easy task, and I have felt that burden of hard tasks. But there is a clear point that is made, which is that you have to take time to turn to God and listen to the message first, and then act.

In my life, I seek that message through reading a prayer book in the morning. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me interpret that message and apply it to my decisions. I try to make little prayers during the day, inviting Him to help me with those decisions. Then by the end of the day, I take time to reflect and pray, and oftentimes, ask for repentance, like the people of Nineveh. I come to God with an open and humble heart, and on those days I feel whole knowing that our God is merciful and wants to guide me.

What will help me tune in to God’s message for me today?

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