Beyond Myself

Scripture – Jonah 4:5-8: ⁵Jonah went 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. ⁶Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. ⁷But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. ⁸When 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.”

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) This is sort of a reminder that God can, and does, do whatever He chooses. He chose to give the people of Nineveh another chance. He provided the vine for Jonah, then He took it away. In the midst of all this, Jonah still seems quite focused on himself.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) I tend to filter things as to how they will affect me. Today, I will remove that filter. I will look for other people, listen to them and give them my time and attention.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, thank you for giving up your life for me. Help me live like that today. Thanks for the vines you supply.