I highly recommend Timothy Keller’s book The Prodigal Prophet, which is focuses on the story of Jonah.

The following section from the book describes Jonah ... and me. I was challenged, and I hope you will be too.

“So Jonah had a problem with the job he was given. But he had a bigger problem with the One who gave it to him. Jonah concluded that because he could not see any good reasons for God’s command, there couldn’t be any. Jonah doubted the goodness, wisdom, and justice of God.

We have all had that experience. We sit in the doctor’s office stunned by the biopsy report. We despair of ever finding decent employment after the last lead has dried up. We wonder why the seemingly perfect romantic relationship—the one we always wanted and never thought was possible—has crashed and burned. If there is a God, we think he doesn’t know what he is doing! Even when we turn from the circumstances of our lives to the teaching of the Bible itself, it seems, to modern people especially, to be filled with claims that don’t make much sense.

When this happens we have to decide—does God know what’s best, or do we? And the default mode of the unaided human heart is to always decide that we do. We doubt that God is good, or that he is committed to our happiness, and therefore we can’t see any good reasons for something God says or does, we assume that there aren’t any.” (pp 15-16)

We can trust God. We can trust his goodness, his wisdom, and his justice. We may not always understand his ways, but we can trust his character.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

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“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-9)

In the closing chapter of Galatians, Paul reminds us of a simple truth: We reap what we sow. He roots this truth in the character of God, and he concisely states we reap what we sow. To drive home his point he first stresses the negative: If we sow to the flesh, we will reap destruction. In other words, don’t sow to the flesh.

Then Paul reminds us of the rewards of sowing to the Spirit: Eternal life. Then he immediately encourages us to not give up. Paul knows firsthand that life is hard and doing the right thing is not always easy. Paul understands that we do not always immediately see the good rewords of sowing to the Spirit. He tells us to not give up. God is faithful. We will in time reap a harvest.

What are you sowing? Where are you sowing? What will you reap?

Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not give up. Continue to faithfully sow to the Spirit. It is worth the effort. It is worth the wait. You will reap a harvest.

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