5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” – jONAH 4:5-8
So the question remains: what blessings do we make idols? For many of us it is our homes, our careers, and our families. We work so hard for all of those things, but we forget that all of those things are from God. Jonah did incredible things for God’s army. Jonah slept in the belly of the fish. He was tossed overboard. He witnessed repentance of one of the worst cities in the world. Yet, at the end of the day it was still all about Jonah. When we accept Jesus we accept all of Jesus. This means we accept the portions of Jesus that says things like “turn the other cheek” or “let him without sin cast the first stone.” Christ came to show us what humility looks like. Nothing Jesus did was for his own benefit. Do you understand that? The only benefit Jesus received from his life and sacrifice was a relationship with us. That is how much He loves us. He was willing to submit his entire being for us to be free in God’s love.
For you and for me, its not about being right. Its not about being famous or making the most money. Our lives are about one thing: spreading the love of Jesus. How do we do this? We become like Jesus. We put others first 100% of the time even when the sun is beating on your face and your self-pity is telling you to be angry. The greatest lie that Satan tells us is that life is about you. That is incorrect. Life is about Jesus. Jesus is life. Without Him we would not exist. Now, turn to Him and experience the peace that comes from knowing that you are already taken care of. Time to take care of others.