Key Verse: Verse 8 - “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."
Key Words: forsake their own mercy
Jonah, chapter 2, is Jonah’s prayer of affliction as he laid in the belly of the whale pleading with God.
In verse 8 he admitted that he had “observed” lying vanities. Jonah’s fear of going to Nineveh had caused him to believe the lies that were flowing through his mind. So often some of the lies we believe are not told by others, but what we tell to ourselves. When we believe those lies, we also leave behind God’s mercy.
Tony Evans tells the story: “One time I was in such a hurry going somewhere to serve the Lord that I got pulled over by a police officer for speeding. He said, 'Now, Pastor Evans, you know you’re not supposed to be going this fast.'
I said, ‘I am so sorry. I am wrong and I deserve a ticket.’
Mercy kicked in. The officer said he wouldn’t give me what I deserved but he cautioned me to be careful with my speed.
Now, I figured since I had just left a policeman, I didn’t have to worry about another one for awhile. I hopped on my accelerator trying to hurry up and get to my destination. Now, I had just experienced mercy. I had just been relieved from justice. But it doesn’t take long to forget mercy. I went back to almost the same speed. One and a half miles later, another policeman pulled me over for speeding yet again.
I got ready to plead again like I did the last time. The officer comes to tell me I’m speeding and I start to appeal to him for mercy. It looked like I was going to get mercy twice in a span of a mile and a half…until the first policeman came by. God has a way of making justice catch up with us when we don’t appreciate mercy or when mercy is taken for granted.”
What to do:
✞ Remember, it’s better to learn from the experience of others than to learn from having to experience it for yourself.
