Pursuing the Promise

Does this thing still work? Wassup y'all! It's been a long time, and I'm so sorry that I went ghost on y'all like that, but life has been craaaaaaazzzzzzzzy. I've been going at it hard for the last 2 almost 3 months, and I finally got the chance to rest so that's why I did. But I'm back now y'all I promise so on to this long awaited post

So it's a new year, which means everybody is making new year resolutions, vision boards, goals, and all of that. We promise ourselves we're going to all these things. We want to lose weight, we want to save money, we want to travel. All of these things that we want to do, but somehow we forget the things God wants us to do and what He promised us. 

It's kind of funny that I mention this now because for the last 2 weeks or so God has really been dealing with me regarding my assignment and the things that He has spoken over my life years ago. I'm literally being pushed to my destiny. This assignment won't let me sleep. I can't even relax and enjoy a weekend away without this thing berating me. Every time I lay down or close my eyes God's like



I guess this is how Jonah felt. 

Jonah 1:1-3 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Jonah’s Disobedience

1 Now the word of the Lord came to [a]Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go to [b]Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim [judgment] against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord [and his duty as His prophet]. He went down to [c]Joppa and found a ship going to [d]Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities]. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.

God gave Jonah a specific assignment and Jonah blatantly said no. In fact, the footnotes for this verse in the amplified bible says that he is the only prophet that actually tried to run away from his assignment. So many people look at this and are like, "OMG I can't believe he told God no. He's crazy," but we as people do it all the time. For years, I've had dreams and visions of me preaching. I had to be like 18, when it started, and it would be at the most random times. I've seen myself sitting in a pulpit.God has shown me visions of me laying hands. I can remember being 19 and going to a "Beyond the Veil" conference and in my prayer, God showed me a mic and some oil. Even as recently as maybe 2 or 3 days ago, I've had dreams of conversations with my leaders and other pastors. Yet and still I run. God will show me something, and I will be like "nah God. I don't see it, fam."

It doesn't make it right, but it happens. 

Jonah 1:4-10 Amplified Bible (AMP)

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind toward the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god; and to lighten the ship [and diminish the danger] they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep. 6 So the captain came up to him and said, “How can you stay asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will give a thought to us so that we will not perish.”

7 And they said to another, “Come, [a]let us cast lots, so we may learn who is to blame for this disaster.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Now tell us! [b]Who is to blame for this disaster? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, [c]who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the Lord, [d]because he had told them.

Now when I looked at this, I said, "Oh God got jokes. He's with the shenans." He was going to make sure Jonah did what He said. On top of that, Jonah's disobedience's putting everyone with him at risk. Your "no" can be the reason why the people around your and those connected to you aren't flourishing. Jekalyn Carr wrote a song called "You Will Win," and in that song there's a line that says "everything attached to me wins." But I wonder how many people's winning has been delayed because of me...

Jonah 1:10-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

10 Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the Lord, [a]because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming more and more violent. 12 Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard [breaking through the waves] to return to land, but they could not, because the sea became even more violent [surging higher] against them. 14 Then they called on the Lordand said, “Please, O Lord, do not let us perish because of taking this man’s life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased.”

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 Now the Lord had prepared (appointed, destined) a great [b]fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach of the fish [c]three days and three nights.

Two things are happening here: Jonah would much rather commit suicide than complete the assignment. I know some of you are reading this and saying, "it can't be that bad." I hate to say this, but people who think that just don't understand how much comes with doing ministry. Your life has to take a backseat to ministry. Some people get uneasy about it. I know I am. I like to have a good time. Sometimes people don't understand that balance and get to talking out the side of their necks, and then I have to turn in to B.C. Briana (we'll talk about that next week), and next thing you know you got a cursing, knuck if you buck-ing prophet. It's a struggle out here in these streets. The second thing occurring is God is giving Jonah what he wanted to prove a point

Jonah 2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Jonah’s Prayer

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and said,

“I called out of my trouble and distress to the Lord,
And He answered me;
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help,
And You heard my voice.
3 
“For You cast me into the deep,
Into the [deep] heart of the seas,
And the currents surrounded and engulfed me;
All Your breakers and billowing waves passed over me.
4 
“Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 
“The waters surrounded me, to the point of death.
The great deep engulfed me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 
“I descended to the [very] roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars closed behind me [bolting me in] forever,
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit (death), O Lord my God.
7 
“When my soul was fainting within me,
I remembered the Lord,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 
“Those who regard and follow worthless idols
[a]Turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness.
9 
“But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I shall pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation is from the Lord!”

10 So the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

God saw when Jonah wanted to die so He allowed Jonah to believe that's what was going to happen. Jonah thought that was what he wanted and God allowed it to happen so He deal with Jonah. I've said this before, but God really deals with me in the pits of my life when I'm in a place where I can't do anything but listen. Being diagnosed with PCOS almost 3 years ago and going through an extremely messy break up about 7-8 months ago pushed me more than anything. The diagnosis gave me the original fire to do what He said, but then I got into that relationship and I got stagnant. Then God sent another reminder that literally won't let me forget. 

Part of the reason I like the story of Jonah is because I see so much of myself in Jonah. God told me to start YSF years ago, maybe 2013. It took me 5 years to start the blog, and then I got inconsistent and here comes another fish to swallow me up. You can't try to run from what God has called you to. You can want to with all your might, but you'll literally run right into your calling and not even know it. When He speaks, it has to happen, even if He spoke it over your life.