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“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.” Psalm 69:13
There are some appointments in life that I really look forward to: dates with my wife, quality time with my children, missional community gatherings, preaching engagements, weddings that I officiate, mentoring sessions with young people, leadership meetings, and ministry training events. I love these kinds of appointments. But then there are those necessary appointments that I don’t look forward to… like going to the dentist. This is one of the most uncomfortable things for me. I hate the feeling of someone poking and prodding my teeth as I lay in a reclining position. Going to the dentist is grueling for me. Yet I understand that there are some appointments in life that are necessary even when they are uncomfortable.
A thorough study of God’s Word reveals that divine appointments are not choreographed to indulge our comforts; they are masterminded based on what is necessary for our good, the world’s need, and God’s glory.
God’s pruning process of sanctification is often an exceedingly uncomfortable work of grace in our lives. Just ask Jonah.
In Jonah’s story, God appointed the special calling on his life (Jonah 1:1-2) as well as the storm that engulfed him at sea when he ran from that divine calling (Jonah 1:4). God appointed the fish that swallowed him in misery (Jonah 1:17) and He subsequently appointed the authoritative command for the fish to release Jonah after he cried out in despair (Jonah 2:10).
God appointed the second chance for Jonah to redeem his failures (Jonah 3:1-2) and the revival that broke out as a result of Jonah’s obedience (Jonah 3:4-10). After Jonah isolated himself on the outskirts of the city in self-pity, God appointed the plant that grew up to comfort Jonah (Jonah 4:6) and then God also appointed the worm that attacked the plant and left him in discomfort (Jonah 4:7).
God appointed the scorching east wind that beat down on Jonah, leaving him faint and weak (Jonah 4:8). And just like a skilled surgeon performing open-heart surgery, God used this unpleasant moment to bring about a divinely orchestrated appointment where the anger and self-absorption in Jonah’s heart could be exposed, and then confronted by the balm of God’s healing mercies.
In all of these appointments, the underlying precept is that God never leaves us to ourselves. His appointments can be seen in our obedience and our disobedience. They are seen in the uncomfortable circumstances that swallow us as well as the jubilant moments of deliverance. His fingerprints are all over our second chance opportunities and our redeemed failures. They are evident in our greatest spiritual victories. They can also be traced in our seasons of defeat.
God’s appointments can be seen in the provisions that comfort us as well as the “worms” that sever those provisions at times which seem inconvenient to us. His appointments are painfully present in the “scorching” seasons that make us so faint that we are in anguish until the deepest roots of our self-absorbed lives are dried up by the heat of His transforming presence.
His pruning work is just as divinely appointed as His saving work. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will come to admit that oftentimes these two are one and the same—in all of God’s appointments, whether comfortable or uncomfortable, He is faithful to save us from ourselves.
Think about that as you abide in Him this week.
Divine appointments are not choreographed to indulge our comforts; they are masterminded based on what is necessary for our good, the world’s need, and God’s glory.
Questions for Reflection:
- Read through the book of Jonah this week (four very short chapters). What stands out most about Jonah? What stands out most about God’s character?
- In what areas or seasons of your life have you been able to relate with Jonah?
- Where have you seen God’s uncomfortable, yet necessary divine appointments in your life? What has been the result of these appointments?
- What does it produce in you to know that God is so relentlessly committed to your spiritual growth, that He will use even painfully necessary processes (Proverbs 3:12, Hebrews 12:6) to conform you more to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)?
- What can you do this week to be more aware of God’s fingerprints in every circumstance, not just the blissful ones?
- Is there sin (self-serving patterns) in your life that God is trying to expose through your present circumstances? Spend time in prayer and ask God for wisdom to rightly interpret your present circumstances.
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