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- [00:00]
Ali Yost
Okay, let's take a poll. How weird does it feel to be called someone's fiance? Right. The first time you hear it, you do, like a double take. Your heart kind of flutters, and before you know it, you go from, let's just enjoy this moment to, we're planning a fall wedding. That's where Zola comes in. Zola has everything you need to plan your wedding in one place and have fun along the way. From free planning tools like a budget tracker super necessary and and website to a venue and vendor discovery tool that matches you with your dream team. Everything on Zola is designed to make your wedding journey as easy as possible. And with invites that can be completely customized and a wedding registry packed with gifts you actually want, Zola takes you from save our date to thanks so much without breaking a sweat. From getting engaged to getting married, Zola has everything you need to plan your wedding in one place. Start planning@zola.com. that's Z O L A dot com. Happy wedding.
- [01:01]
Ashley Hetherington
Yeah, sure thing. Hey, you sold that car yet? Yeah, sold it to Carvana. Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy. The guy who wanted to pay me in foreign currency, no interest over 36 months. Yeah, no. Carvana gave me an offer in minutes, picked it up, and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient. Just like that? Yeah. No hassle? None. That is super convenient. Sell your car to Carvana and swap.
- [01:28]
Ali Yost
Hassle.
- [01:28]
Ashley Hetherington
For convenience. Pickup fees may apply. Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Host. And if you are physically watching, first thing I need to address is this new setup. Are we loving it? I need you guys in the comment section if you're watching on YouTube, to tell me what you think. So excited, guys. This is like a dream. This is like a dream. I feel like, especially with my team, this has been something that I've been like, gosh, I just wish that I could, you know, record in a studio space where I actually have more people helping me. And the lights, camera, action, all this stuff isn't just on Ali all the time. So I feel very blessed, and I'm so grateful. So hopefully we enjoy this new setup. I still wanted it to be, like, cozy, so it feels like we're all just hanging out, and it's intimate, and we're, you know, in our jammies or cozies or whatever that looks like for y'all. But, yeah, I'm excited. I'm so grateful to be here with you guys. What the heck? I know I say this all the time. But this is like my favorite time of the week is when I get to sit down with you guys and just talk about Jesus. Also, can we talk about my T shirt? I actually need to tell you guys about this. This is, like, really exciting. So I got this idea. Well, this is a part of merch that we're launching, so yay. Hello, it's happening. This has been something that you guys have been requesting for so long. I don't know if I even ever going to do merch. I just. I don't know, guys. I've done it before. And not that it wasn't great before, but I just was like, do people still want merch? Like, is that still a thing? I don't know. I feel like merch was like a really big thing once upon a time. Maybe 20, 15, 16, 17. I'm like, do people want that anymore? I don't know. But you guys do. You've made it clear that you do. So the merch should be officially live now as I'm filming this actively. I don't actually know what the link is, but I know it's linked in the description on socials everywhere. You probably could Google it. Maybe Christ with coffee on ice merch. But this is my favorite piece. Okay, so obviously we have other pieces that just say, you know, we're repping. Okay, We're a part of the family. It says Christ with coffee and ice on it, but this T shirt just has Jesus's face all over it. Are you freaking kidding? It's amazing. And then at the bottom, it says, he is the icon. Okay? He was the original. He is the original icon. Is this not an epic T shirt? Anyway, it's available, so if you guys want it, you can have it. The other thing that we've launched, this had to happen. This had to happen with the launch is we have coffee cups. Are you kidding? Look at how precious. So this does say Christ with coffee and ice on it. I wanted to put cute little stars on it to make it, like, super girly and fun, right? I love it. I love today, guys. This is exciting. We have a bunch of new. It's new newness is happening. So today, my coffee. We have our. We do have our Christ. I also have a new Bible. What's going on? There's a lot of newness. I got this beautiful new bible from Hosanna Revival. They're amazing, by the way. I reached out to them. Sorry, guys, I just have a lot to update you on. Is that okay? I reached out to them. And I was like, I think it would really bless my listeners, because they did gift me this, which was so kind of them. And I was like, I think it would really bless my listeners. I don't know if you guys do this, but if there's any type of discount or something you could give them. Because, you know, you guys ask me so many questions about my Bibles. And I have a few Bibles from them already. I also have some notebooks from them. They just have really, really great stuff. And so they have given us a code, y'all. What the heck? How kind. It's just Ali Yost. And I think you can save 15% off your order, so feel free to shop their site. They were so kind to give me this beautiful Bible. It's still nlt, so we will still be reading the NLT translation, but it's so stunning. I love her. So anyway, guys, I'm really grateful, okay? But the coffee, we put a peppermint creamer in it today because we're festive. Christmas is right around the corner. How are we feeling about that, y'all? Have we all done our shopping yet? I haven't. I haven't. I would love to know, are you guys the type of people to postpone that and kind of, like, procrastinate it, or do you. Are you, like, timely, Right? Are you, like, an Ashley Hetherington? I feel like Ashley is the type of person to get that done quickly. Or do you kind of procrastinate? I feel like maybe I would identify in that. I wanna get better with that, though. I don't wanna be a procrastinator. Okay. Anyway, let's get into it, guys. Let's talk about the Lord. Let's talk about the word of God. So today I. Before we started recording, I had asked the Lord what we were gonna talk about. Cause more than half the time, y'all, I've said this, but I don't really ever know what God's gonna bring to the table when it comes to recording for the pod, but we just trust him. And. And so I sat down with him and I was like, you know, what do you want everybody to hear today? What do you want them to know? And I heard the word Jonah. I heard the name Jonah. And of course, we all. We all are probably familiar with the story of Jonah who got swallowed by the giant fish. I have never actually read the book of Jonah. I've known the story, but I've never actually got to reading it. It's in the Old Testament. And I was like, okay, God, I kind of, like, question him for a second. Don't we all do that? But I did. I kind of questioned him for a second, and I was like, are we reading, like, the. You like Jonah with the whale? Like, that's what you want to talk about, God. But he said. I kept hearing it again and again, and I was like, all right. So I start Googling about the Book of Jonah. I'm like, what are the major takeaways? Just to get an idea of, like, maybe what the Lord was pointing at. And then I opened up my Bible, and I realized that the Book of Jonah is literally, like a page and a half. It's one, two. It's literally two pages long. So I was like, oh, okay. I didn't realize how brief it was. So I say, this is what we're gonna do, guys. We're going to read the Book of Jonah because it shouldn't take too long. And then I would love to just talk about some takeaways and reflect, because it's funny, the Book of Jonah is so short, but there's actually, like, after I was done reading it, I was like, wait, there's actually so much, much to this. And I wrote down some takeaways that I would love to share with y'all because I think it'd be really fruitful and it would speak to a lot of us. But I don't even think I wrote down, like, everything that you could truly take away from this story. But I just feel like that's such a testimony to the word of God, is that it could be just like a sentence, like a literal sentence from the Bible, and it just goes on and on forever. There's just always things to learn. That's what makes living and alive. And that's just crazy to me. I don't know that there's just. There's just so much in the word of God, and it's as simple as just reading a couple pages, and your entire perspective can change. So with that being said, if you are near your Bible, I would encourage you guys to open them up. We're going to read this together, and then we're going to reflect and we're going to talk about it. Okay? And I do believe that everyone listening is going to relate to this. Okay, Maybe we haven't all walked through what Jonah's walked through, physically being eaten by a giant fish. We haven't all necessarily walked through that. But there actually is so much to learn from this story. So let's get into it. Let's read it. So we're going to start at the top of the book of Jonah. So Jonah runs from the Lord. The Lord gave this message to Jonah, son of Amai, get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it, because I have seen how wicked its people are. But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold, so the captain went down after him. How can you sleep at a time like this? He shouted. Get up and pray to your God. Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives. Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused this terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. Why has this awful storm come down on us? They demanded. Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality? Jonah answered, I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land. The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. Oh, why did you do it? They groaned, and since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, what should we do to you to stop this storm? Throw me in the sea, Jonah said, and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault. Instead, the sailors rode even harder to get the ship to the land, but the stormy sea was too violent for them and they couldn't make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah's God. O Lord, they pleaded, don't make us die for this man's sin and don't hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons. Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once. The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish. For three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God. From inside the fish, he said, I. I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble. And he answered me, I called to you from the land of the dead. And, Lord, you heard me. You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me. I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, o Lord, you have driven me from your presence, yet I will look once more toward your holy temple. I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord, my God, snatched me from the jaws of death. As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord, and my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy temple. Those who worship false gods turned their backs on all God's mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all of my vows, for my salvation comes from the Lord alone. Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message that I have given you. This time Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds, 40 days from now Nineveh will be destroyed. The people of Nineveh believed God's message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city. No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all of their violence. Who can tell, perhaps even yet, God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us. When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it. Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away from Tarshish. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord. I'd rather be dead than alive. If what I predicted will not happen. The Lord replied, is it right for you to be angry about this? Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under. As he waited to see what would happen to the city and the Lord, God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there. And soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eases his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But God also arranged for a worm. The next morning at dawn, the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. Death is certainly better than living like this. He exclaimed. Then God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry because the plant died? Yes, Jonah retorted, even angry enough to die. Then the Lord said, you feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city? That is the end of the book of Jonah. There we go, guys. We read through all of it. So even though that was a few pages long, I feel like we're already cooking. Like, are things already kind of moving in your mind? There's actually so much more in this than what Google was saying, in my opinion. Cause I was looking it up, and it's like, oh, well, you know, when you reject what the Lord has for you and his ultimate plan for you, and you go out of his will, this is what happens. And it is a story of what happens when we rebel against the Lord, for sure. But there were a few other things that I felt really jumped out and spoke to me about this story. So the first takeaway that I want to take note of with this story is going against the will of God doesn't necessarily mean that the Lord will make our lives a living hell. I'm just gonna say that because I think some of us could think, like, oh, well, God will just throw awful things at you if you don't do what he says. Like, he's a manipulating God. I think sometimes, I don't know. That's just something that came to my mind. I feel like a lot of people could look at this and be like, well, God forces us to love him, and he purposefully, you know, made the storm happen and purposefully threw Jonah into this giant fish and did all these things so then he would have to follow the Lord. But what I saw in this story is that at the end of the day, he knew Jonah, and he knew Jonah's gifts and how it would quite literally bring people to salvation and make people want to turn from their wicked ways. So God also knew that Jonah was stubborn, right? Just like a lot of us are in just our human nature, we are actually very stubborn and prideful. And so it took things that seemed harsh, like the storm and the fish, to reach Jonah. Like, that actually was the only way. I don't think God just goes to these extremes unless it, like, actually physically has to happen, right? He allows things to happen, and he might even put some things that seem really harsh in our path. But ultimately, it's like a way of him parenting us where it kind of hurts, you know? But ultimately it's for our safety and it's for our good. God knew that the path Jonah was on, as he was literally running away from God, was destructive and avoidant and rooted out of fear. So the other thing that we need to remember is God is looking at his son Jonah, knowing that he is so gifted, right? Because he was a prophet. That's like, what Jonah did is he would hear directly from the Lord and he would warn people and just be like that middleman, communicator for, you know, hearing from the Lord and then delivering these messages. And so he has this gift of prophecy, but he's running away from it because the Lord was calling him to do something really scary. And so him running away was fully rooted out of just fear and just not good fruit, right? So God is seeing this, and he's like, nah, this isn't my man's portion. This is not my son's portion. God wants all of us to operate in our giftings because he's given us those gifts. I'm sure all of us have experiences of what it feels like to really operate in the thing that you're passionate about and you feel is rooted in your heart and your soul. It's the thing that God's made you for. And it feels good. It feels good to operate in our gifts because that's what we were physically made for. But also it blesses other people too, you know, so all around embracing the gifts that the Lord has given us is good. And so the Lord was seeing this, and he was seeing that Jonah was lacking. He probably was lacking purpose. He's just running away, avoiding all of the scary things and hard things that the Lord is telling him to do. All while all of these people that God plans to bless through using Jonah are not being blessed, right? So God's like, I got to do something. The truth of the matter is that the Lord uses all of these things, like the storm and the giant fish, to lead Jonah back to safety. So it seems unsafe and scary at the time that God is doing all of this. And it probably really was for him. But that is life, actually, when we decide to run away from God and go out of his will for us. So it probably was very scary for Jonah to go through all of that. But the only reason he was even in that situation was because he was out of God's will. He was out of where the Lord was truly calling him.
- [19:24]
Unknown
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- [20:22]
Ashley Hetherington
Okay? The other thing that I noticed about this is that God doesn't waste an opportunity. So we see that through Jonah's disobedience and running away, it actually ended up blessing the other men in the boat because they saw what the Lord was capable of with stopping the storm as soon as Jonah was thrown into the sea. So when we go back to that scripture where the sailors picked Jonah up and they threw him into the raging sea and the storm stopped at once, the Sailors were awestruck. They were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve Him. So how cool is it to then reflect and say, well, the Lord really. He really will just any opportunity that there is for the Lord to perform multiple miracles, even out of our disobedience, y'all. Like, that's how sovereign he is. Is that even out of Jonah's disobedience, he was on a boat with these men, running away from all of his problems, running away from what the Lord was telling him to do. But then these men get to. They receive salv salvation, and they're saved. And they vowed to serve the Lord because they had seen the power of God through Jonah. So that's just cool. I don't know. I just think that that's such a testimony that the Lord really, obviously, we should try our best to not be disobedient to the Lord, and we should try our best to stay in the will of God. It's just really cool to see that even through our mistakes, even through possible times of disobedience, the Lord still performs miracles. And so I really. I loved that part. I just think, too, that through this story, we continue to see God's heart, His patience, his mercy, and his grace, not only with Jonah, but even these men on the boat. Like, the Lord had enough mercy and grace for these men to show his glory, to show his greatness and say, hey, hi, I am the living God. I am the only Lord. Like, I am who I say I am, and I am who Jonah says I am. Right? Because Jonah testified and was like, he's my God. This is my God, the Lord, the only living God. Because it sounds like these guys on the ship were praying out to gods like it was plural, like multiple gods. So it's just the fact that the Lord has mercy. Like, I feel like we really see God's heart and how much love he has and patience for us, y'all. Like, he has so much patience. So not only for Jonah, but then, you know, people along the way, like these men in the boat as well. We shouldn't remember this, though, and just act out in disobedience and think, oh, but the Lord will turn this to good. And I'm sure my disobedience will bless someone. Somehow, that came to my mind. I feel like there's another scripture that says, don't sin just because, you know, like, oh, well, the Lord can use my sin, and he always turns evil to good anyway. So it's by God's grace and mercy for Jonah that he even did any of this at all. Okay, so God didn't have to do any of it, but it was out of the kindness of his heart. So we shouldn't take his grace for granted just because we know he has been gracious before and he can do it again. But he also doesn't have to. We learn about his grace to learn more about his heart and understand his kindness, not to take advantage of it. So I think the Lord also loves to remind us of his grace and his mercy and that, you know, even when we do mess up, there's still room for God to redeem it and even bring more blessings out of those things. But it's not something to corrupt, to twist, or to take advantage of by being like, ah, well, I'll just be disobedient. I'll do this thing that I know is sinful. And the Lord will probably. You know what? He'll probably bless more people because of it. Actually, I should sin from time to time. I should be disobedient because look what the Lord did with Jonah. He blessed those men. Don't use God's grace and his kindness and compassion as a way to justify being disobedient and sinful. So that's just something I felt on my heart, too, is knowing his mercy and his love just out of understanding his kindness and knowing who it is that we were created by and just having fear and gratitude for the way that. That is how our Lord operates. But he doesn't have to, so it's not something to take advantage of. Okay, the other takeaway, y'all, are we hanging in there? How are we doing? Are we following? Okay. Also, if y'all are taking notes and stuff, I can speak slower. God is all knowing. That was something that I took from this as well, that no matter how much Jonah ran from the Lord, he still knew all. He knew exactly where Jonah was. He knew exactly where Jonah's heart was at. So he knew where Jonah was physically. He knew where Jonah was spiritually. He knew what was inside Jonah's heart. And the thing that we can never do is run from God. Which actually isn't something that should make us unsettled, but should actually give us a lot of peace, knowing that even when we try to run from God, we can't. So that actually just means that the Lord is with us at all times, no matter what, that he knows us better than we know ourselves, which is another reason why we should trust Him a lot. Of times, we think we know what we need or what we're feeling, but God knows a lot more than we do. I also think this is why God put Jonah in a giant fish for three days, because he knew Jonah. So as we mentioned before, God knew Jonah's stubbornness and knew that this was probably the only way to reach him. He knew that deep down, Jonah loved him. This is also something God knew, though. And I know this because as soon as God allowed this giant fish to swallow Jonah, Jonah then started to pray out to the Lord in gratitude and praise, which is crazy, because he just got swallowed by a giant fish. But he knew that deep down, Jonah loved him. He knew that, which is why he was merciful and gave him another chance, right? And allowed him to kind of go through this. I think it's because the Lord really knew that once Jonah was in that fish, he was gonna be like, wait, praise God. I love the Lord. Even the scariest circumstance. And even though he technically was running away from God, he still still called out to the Lord. Jonah was actually praying relief and gratitude to the Lord because he didn't drown. Yes, he was stuck in a giant fish, and he had no idea for how long, but he thanked the Lord that he wasn't dead. Realizing that Jonah was running away out of fear and not entirely trusting God because God was calling him to the great city of Nineveh to announce God's judgment against this city, because these people were in spiritual darkness. So what we're also seeing, too, is that Jonah had a lack of trust in the Lord. And so, because he didn't have trust in God, the only other thing that could replace that spot in his heart was fear. And so he was running away in fear, not fully trusting the Lord, and I think also probably forgetting that God is all knowing, right? So when we talk about the fact that God is all knowing and he knows all things, right? He knew where Jonah was at physically. He knew where Jonah was at spiritually, but he also knew the future, and he knew what would have come for both Jonah and the city of Nineveh if Jonah had been obedient, right? And so I think another thing that we should take from this and learn from Jonah is having trust in God in the scary things, like in the really scary things that look crazy, that look really impossible, and trust that God would never encourage us to do things that wouldn't be fruitful. I say that out loud, and it reminds me, this was just a couple episodes ago, but y'all remember the episode. If you Listened to it two weeks ago where we meditated with the spirit of God. And if you follow me on socials, I got on my stories. I voiced my honest feelings about that episode and how scared I was to record it, y'all. Like, I normally don't have a problem being bold because I get my boldness from the Lord and I just, you know, I lean on him and I'm like, God, if I sound crazy, I sound crazy. But there was just something extra vulnerable about that episode. I feel like I was just really, like, walking people through, just, you know, being baptized in the spirit of God, which is just like a very high pressure thing. I was kind of like, God, I don't feel very qualified for this. What the heck? I don't have any degree or license to do this. He was like, you don't need one. You have me. I said, got it. But also just vulnerable and putting myself out there to also probably be judged and to be called a crazy person. Okay, that was my fear. And I do think that it has to do a little bit with pride. Like, whenever we're looking at ourselves and we're saying, oh, God, but I can't do that. I'm not capable. People are going to think I'm crazy. Pride is just us simply looking at ourselves and being way too consumed and concerned about ourselves. And so I think there was a bit of pride, obviously, and fear that was tempting for me to fall into. But the coolest thing that I got to witness was. So we launched it, right? We went out with the episode. I. I just felt the Lord really challenging me in my obedience. I said, all right, God, if I look crazy, then I look crazy for you. It is what it is. Maybe I just send it out into the world. I don't even touch it. Out of sight, out of mind, like it never happened, right? And so I was thinking about the episode after I had gone live for a couple days, and I was like, lord, I wonder how it's doing? Like, I haven't heard any backlash yet. Like, no one's texted me. Being like, girl, you're going viral for being a crazy person. I was like, is it safe? Like, should I check the comment section? And so I felt the Lord say, like, actually encourage me to. He was like, yes, I, like, really want you to look, actually. And so I went and I looked at the comment section. And ultimately it was just testimony after testimony after testimony of people who just needed that or had never done anything like that. Maybe they had never even met Jesus like that. There were Just like the most insane testimonies in the comment section of people just saying that they've never felt the spirit of God like that, or it's been a really long time since they felt the Lord. And so I say all of this, y'all just out of an example of doing a very, very scary, bold thing for the Lord, not knowing the results. Okay? I had no idea what was actually going to happen. It could have either gone great or it could have flopped. And I just think that's when God really, really wants us to trust his voice. With seeing that fruit, like, and seeing all those testimonies and all those people in the comment section, that alone obviously blessed me. I was like, wow, God, you really know what you're talking about. Like, God knows what he's talking about when he calls us to do things. So that's number one, is I'm like, wow, God really actually knows everything. Like, yeah, he does. He knows the future. He knows everything. He surpasses time and space. But also, it boosted how much I. I, like, hear Him. I was like, wait, I hear the Lord. I hear Him. So it's like, if I didn't do that one, I wouldn't have been able to see the. The fruit of just all of these people who needed it, which is more than enough. But also just gaining more confidence in the fact that I do hear the voice of God and He is right, and he knows more than me, you know? So it also. It actually strengthens your relationship with the Lord when you walk out in obedience and then you see the will of God take place, the plan that he had and could only happen because you walked out in that obedience. It's just a really beautiful thing to be a part of with the Lord. And so I know. I know that there are a lot of you right now that are feeling so convicted, and. And there are things on your heart, and there are things that you have felt the Lord tell you to do. And we talked about procrastination in the beginning of this episode. That's one of the things that you're procrastinating. You're like, I don't want to do it, God. Maybe I'll do it next week. Like, there were temptations for me, too. Like, even after I recorded that POD episode, I was like, maybe we push it out one more week. Maybe we push it out until December, January. Like, I really. It was so tempting, y'all. But there is just nothing more beautiful than working with God and letting him just move and work miracles through your obedience. And so Jonah is another example. Like, we've been human. You know, it's crazy because we go back to the Bible and we read about these people, and we see just how human they are, too. You know, that fear and maybe a little bit of lack and trust with the Lord. Like, all those things have been happening through humanity from the beginning. But I think it's beautiful that the Lord gives us this. It's the key to life. And he gives us all of these examples, and he says, hey, learn from this. Don't do this. You know? And so, anyway, I think it's also a really encouraging story of how the Lord will just have his way and he will protect us and he will take care of us through our obedience, even if scary things come from our obedience. Like, even if there was backlash, or maybe one day there will be backlash with my video, I don't know. The Lord will continue to cover me. And ultimately, at the end of the day, it only matters to make him proud and to do the things that he calls us to do and to just be obedient in. In for the sake of making him happy and pleased so that at the end of our life, we get to see him face to face. And he says, well done, my good and faithful servant. That's what we should do it for.
- [33:37]
Unknown
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- [34:06]
Ashley Hetherington
Okay, just a couple more takeaways, y'all. So next thing that I took note of is that God can change his mind. Question mark. So, y'all. This part actually, like, blew my mind. Can we go back to the scripture really quick? It was in 3:10. When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways. He changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened y'all. So I was having a conversation with Ashley a few weeks ago, and she, like, walked me through this, understanding that God does change his mind. And I don't know why that was such a hard thing for me to grasp. I was like, wait a minute, Wait a minute. You're telling me that God actually changes his mind. Like, I always thought that God has a plan and it's the plan. Like, that's the plan, the plan is the plan, and that's it, right? And granted, yes, he does have a plan for all of our lives, but I think I was putting him in a box, that there's only one path for that plan to prevail and happen, right? If you think about the Lord and how sovereign he is, there's actually probably trillions of ways that our life can still pan out to the way he wanted and planned for it to be. But it doesn't have to just be down one specific path with one specific timing, with one. Do you get what I'm saying? And so I think that's how I've seen the Lord is. I'm like, yeah, but he has his plan for my life. That's it. It's unwavering. Things don't change. But that is actually so untrue. Because also, if that were the case, then how does free will come into play, Right? Like, we make decisions every day. And with that, God also kind of. It's like a dance with the Lord where he does kind of move things and alter things and change things. And so because of the way that the people of Nineveh repented, they turned from their ways. Even the king of Nineveh, when he heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. So these people were so ashamed of their behavior, the way that they had been living, and. And they repented, they felt regret and they wanted to honor the Lord even with the king, right? He and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city, just basically being like, lord, you are, Lord, we're sorry. We will live by your ways. Please forgive us. And so when God saw that, and that was free will, these people, they could have either continued to live in their evil ways, or they could have turned from their wicked ways, repented, and asked the Lord for forgiveness. So that's what they did. They decided to humble themselves. Even the king, he took off his royal robes, humbled themselves before the Lord and said, God, we're so sorry. And so because of that, the Lord changed his mind. God can change his mind. And so when Ashley and I were talking about it a few weeks ago, the reason that we brought it up was because we were talking about prayer and, like, how we just pray, can persistently pray and knock and knock and knock about the same thing to The Lord. Because sometimes I personally have been like, gosh, I've already prayed about this a million times, though, so God must have a plan. You know, Like, I. I don't see the sense in continuing to pray about this one thing. It hasn't happened yet. But what Ashley was reminding me is that sometimes when God sees how persistent we are in things, he can change his mind, and he can be like, you know what? Allie's been praying about this every dang day for 10 years. Hopefully that's not actually the case about the thing I'm talking about. But, you know, like, he sees that and he's like, you know what? I'm gonna throw her a bone. Okay, fine. She's literally prayed about this a thousand times. I'm gonna give it to her sooner or you know what? I'm gonna give it to her in this way. Homegirl's really been dedicated to praying, and she hasn't given up. Right? God loves persistency. He loves persistency, and he loves seeing us come back to faith over and over and over again. So he can. He can change his mind. And so let us never forget that that is also God's heart, is that he can be like, ah, okay, okay. She's cute. Okay, he's doing a great job. I'm gonna give it. I'm gonna give it to him. You know, that was just. I don't know. That was a side of the Lord that I didn't think existed. So it was cool to see that in Scripture, it literally says he changed his mind. Like, that's biblical. It's actually biblical that the Lord changes his mind. It's in the Bible. Okay, so at the end of this story, because of the way that the Lord changed his mind, we see that he spared these people. 120,000 people were spared. They were not going to be destroyed anymore. Even though Jonah had given them that prophetic word and said, In 40 days, y'all are going to be destroyed. God changed his mind because of their repentance and their humility. Right? Jonah was upset. Jonah was upset with the Lord. So we're seeing that Jonah's pride was more important to him than the mercy God had shown the people by not allowing the destruction to happen. He was more upset with looking bad and probably like a false prophet than being excited with the lord over the 120,000 people whose lives were spared because they decided to turn from their wicked ways. I think this also reveals where Jonah's heart was at, like, towards his gifting that maybe he wasn't totally operating out of a place of compassion for the people, meaning they were in spiritual bondage and he wasn't burdened enough for them that he only cared about how he looked. So that was another kind of icky lesson that the Lord had to walk Jonah through at the end of this book, was that Jonah was more concerned about the way he looked. The pride. Pride got in the way of Jonah a couple times. Pride in the beginning saying, no, Lord, I can't. I won't. That's too scary. He's looking at himself. Whether it was out of him feeling incapable, not wanting to do it, it's too scary, whatever. And then again at the end of the book where he was more concerned with how he looked foolish, where he said that they were all going to be destroyed in 40 days. And then it didn't happen. He's more concerned with the fact that he looks like a false prophet. Or he's like, God, I knew you were going to do this. I keep telling people these words that it's going to happen. And then you go change in your mind. It doesn't happen. And I look like a fool. But it wasn't about Jonah. It was about the 120,000 people whose lives were spared. Not only that, but then they fully turned to the Lord. Now they're obedient to God and they're friends to God. I think that's just such a reminder too, that as we're operating in our gifting, to not hold so much identity in our gifts and see our gifts more so as a tool that the Lord uses to bless people. And our hearts should always be in a posture of others and never ourselves. That our giftings are not made for us. Even though I know that we said earlier, you know, it does feel good to be in our giftings. And it is fulfilling and it's great and it's fun and it is for us, but it should actually mainly be for others, that our gifts are for other people. And so Jonah, I don't think his heart posture was in that place with the way that he reacted. He was more upset about how he had looked than the fact that actually. But his gifting worked. If you think about it, it also was a perspective change for him that because XYZ didn't come to par, right? Like it didn't happen. Like he said it was gonna happen. He thinks that it didn't. Like it was for nothing. Like it didn't work then. Cause it didn't happen. But the reality is that, ooh, this is A word I love this, is that sometimes we think that the Lord is going to use our giftings in a certain way, but then the Lord actually has a completely different thing planned with us using our gifting, right? So that's what's also so fun with running with the Lord and using our gifts is we think he's going to do it one way, and maybe sometimes he will. But actually, I think most times he does it in. In a way that we could have never predicted or seen coming. And so Jonah's gifting was actually used well, because the reason that these people even turned away from their wickedness, y'all, the only reason they turned from their wickedness and the only reason they felt shame and they were repentant and they turned to the Lord was because Jonah told them that they were about to be destroyed. If Jonah hadn't done that, they actually would have been destroyed. So I think it also was a perspective change for Jonah. The Lord did use his gifting just maybe not in the way that he thought that the Lord would. And then I just love how the Lord really shows his heart at the end, saying that, shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city? That's God's heart. He does have mercy. And he cares about his people. He cares about his people. So anyway, y'all, how did we like that? Was that fun? Was that fun? I thought that was a good episode, actually. I really enjoyed that. Thank you, Jesus, for showing up. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I pray it was fruitful for y'all. Hey, guys, can we do something cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Let's walk a little bit more like him today. Let's talk like Him. Even when we're not talking, let's look at people like Jesus. Would I just pray that we can all help others feel seen, loved, and heard through the love of Jesus. I'm so proud of you guys. I'm so proud of you. And I will see you guys next week. Bye. Are some of y'all still listening? Okay, if you're still here, that means you're a real one, which is why I'm about to share this with you. If you've already caught up on all the episodes so far and you don't want to wait until next Friday for a new one, I have really good news for you. Subscribe to our Patreon to get early access to the episodes every week, early access to merch launches or any other exciting news, and receive personalized encouraging messages or Bible verses from us. Subscribe to Our patreon@www.patreon.com C backslash CWCOI I do also want to mention that there is a way to give to the podcast, so if you ever feel led to donate, it blesses me so much and it helps allow the podcast to keep running. You can donate to our paypal at www. PayPal me CWCOI we appreciate y'all and we love you so, so much.