September 30, 2008 IOW
If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then the whale swallowed Jonah, and we do not need a scientist to measure the gullet of a whale. ~ A. W. Tozer ~
Oh I love today’s quote. This has been one of my pet peeves for years. If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then a whale swallowed Jonah. Duh!! Unfortunately it’s not that simple for some people. They think they have to come up with a scientific answer for everything in order for it to be true. They find it difficult to understand what believing and faith is all about.
I taught a young boy in Sunday School once that was and still is very mathematically inclined. He seemed to have a difficult time grasping some of the things I was teaching him from the Bible. To him they didn’t make sense. There was no pattern to what was being said. If I could have presented the stories to him on blank graphic papers he may have been able to grab hold of the miracles of God.
However, that isn’t the way it works. It takes grasping on to it with your heart and learning to trust and have faith in what is being said. God created the earth, enough said. To go beyond trusting that and trying to come up with a scientific answer for how it was done is not for us to do. Jonah was swallowed by a whale, enough said. We don’t need to know how big the whale was or the measurement of the gullet. Or even the percentage of acid it contained verses other things that may have been in there such as the whale’s dinner the night before or his mid-morning snack.
If you think about it there are things God wanted us to figure out or He wouldn’t have made us with the tendency to be curious. Curious enough to want to make it to the moon and back, to travel to Mars, to find out how an atom works, or the white blood cells verses the red blood cells or how we could possibly fly like the bird does.
It’s when we take that curiosity beyond trusting and believing in what God has done that we get ourselves into trouble. Just ask Adam and Eve. They got into trouble when they allowed their curiosity to go beyond trusting what God had to say. God told them not to eat from the tree, enough said. No, not for Adam and Eve! They began to doubt what God had to say and they allowed their curiosity to go to far.
We can be interested about what the whale was like that Jonah spent his vacation in. We can be inquisitive about the fire that burnt around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Or wonder about the lions that weren’t hungry for Daniel when he spent the night at their house. However when we take it beyond that and try to find further explanations such as scientific ones then we have gone too far. Enough said. God said it, so be it! Enough said! “Am I wearing out that phrase?” I hope not because it’s the truth.
In my world where I work in the Medical field the motto is “if it isn’t documented it didn’t happen.” It doesn’t matter what was done if it wasn’t documented it was as if it never happened. That isn’t the same with God. He doesn’t have to document word for word everything He did and how it was done in order for it to be true and believable for our curiosity. He tells us what we need to know and leaves it there for our faith to kick in.
The choice is ours. We need to ask ourselves, “Are we willing to set aside the energy we put into “figuring out” how this whale of a tale could have happened. Applying it to our faith instead?” I hope so because that is what God would want us to do. Putting away the blank graphic papers used to try and explain it all and take the time to trust the Lord. Enough said? Enough said!
Praise you Father God for the provisions you do for us daily. We may never need a belly of a fish to lay in to get us to think about our choices. Or a fireproof plan like Shadrach and his crew did. Or someone to put hungry lions on a “no human” diet for a night but we do need to trust in You. Trusting that you will provide these things if needed. It’s not for us to question what You say, nor what You do or how You did it. May we always remember our task is to trust in You, Jehovah Jerah, Our provider (Genesis 22:4). Enough said! Praise you Father God, praise You!
Our lovely host today is Deborah over at Chocolate & Coffee. Now there is a fine combination for you, go on over there and read and share what others have to say about today’s quote.
If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then the whale swallowed Jonah, and we do not need a scientist to measure the gullet of a whale. ~ A. W. Tozer ~
Oh I love today’s quote. This has been one of my pet peeves for years. If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then a whale swallowed Jonah. Duh!! Unfortunately it’s not that simple for some people. They think they have to come up with a scientific answer for everything in order for it to be true. They find it difficult to understand what believing and faith is all about.
I taught a young boy in Sunday School once that was and still is very mathematically inclined. He seemed to have a difficult time grasping some of the things I was teaching him from the Bible. To him they didn’t make sense. There was no pattern to what was being said. If I could have presented the stories to him on blank graphic papers he may have been able to grab hold of the miracles of God.
However, that isn’t the way it works. It takes grasping on to it with your heart and learning to trust and have faith in what is being said. God created the earth, enough said. To go beyond trusting that and trying to come up with a scientific answer for how it was done is not for us to do. Jonah was swallowed by a whale, enough said. We don’t need to know how big the whale was or the measurement of the gullet. Or even the percentage of acid it contained verses other things that may have been in there such as the whale’s dinner the night before or his mid-morning snack.
If you think about it there are things God wanted us to figure out or He wouldn’t have made us with the tendency to be curious. Curious enough to want to make it to the moon and back, to travel to Mars, to find out how an atom works, or the white blood cells verses the red blood cells or how we could possibly fly like the bird does.
It’s when we take that curiosity beyond trusting and believing in what God has done that we get ourselves into trouble. Just ask Adam and Eve. They got into trouble when they allowed their curiosity to go beyond trusting what God had to say. God told them not to eat from the tree, enough said. No, not for Adam and Eve! They began to doubt what God had to say and they allowed their curiosity to go to far.
We can be interested about what the whale was like that Jonah spent his vacation in. We can be inquisitive about the fire that burnt around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Or wonder about the lions that weren’t hungry for Daniel when he spent the night at their house. However when we take it beyond that and try to find further explanations such as scientific ones then we have gone too far. Enough said. God said it, so be it! Enough said! “Am I wearing out that phrase?” I hope not because it’s the truth.
In my world where I work in the Medical field the motto is “if it isn’t documented it didn’t happen.” It doesn’t matter what was done if it wasn’t documented it was as if it never happened. That isn’t the same with God. He doesn’t have to document word for word everything He did and how it was done in order for it to be true and believable for our curiosity. He tells us what we need to know and leaves it there for our faith to kick in.
The choice is ours. We need to ask ourselves, “Are we willing to set aside the energy we put into “figuring out” how this whale of a tale could have happened. Applying it to our faith instead?” I hope so because that is what God would want us to do. Putting away the blank graphic papers used to try and explain it all and take the time to trust the Lord. Enough said? Enough said!
Praise you Father God for the provisions you do for us daily. We may never need a belly of a fish to lay in to get us to think about our choices. Or a fireproof plan like Shadrach and his crew did. Or someone to put hungry lions on a “no human” diet for a night but we do need to trust in You. Trusting that you will provide these things if needed. It’s not for us to question what You say, nor what You do or how You did it. May we always remember our task is to trust in You, Jehovah Jerah, Our provider (Genesis 22:4). Enough said! Praise you Father God, praise You!
Our lovely host today is Deborah over at Chocolate & Coffee. Now there is a fine combination for you, go on over there and read and share what others have to say about today’s quote.
10 comments:
"If you think about it there are things God wanted us to figure out or He wouldn’t have made us with the tendency to be curious."
So, if you really think about it...it wasn't curiosity that killed the cat...it was unbelief.
Unbelief that God created the laws that say a car is heavier than a cat.
Unbelief that, though a skunk might smell interesting...if you follow it's scent across the road, the chances of getting squished are pretty high.
Unbelief that if you had done the job you were created to do, you could have caught the skunk when it was safely in your own yard.
PS, I'm not a cat-hater...You can substitute my name for cat. It takes me a while to learn the lessons God lays out so plainly sometimes.
BTW, we have four cats. But because we live on a highway, its a convenient drop off for unwanted felines and we have buried many an unfortunate curious kitty in our backyard.
Great post, Karen!
Great points!
I like the illustration of graph paper. So true - some people are like that.
Faith is the Victory!
Excellent post. God said it, enough said. I never tire of hearing that! If we knew it all now, what fun would it be in Heaven when we find out the answers to how God did things. Why - we pretty much know, because it was His will - but the how...did God cause His holy breath to blow back the flames from the 3 young men? Did God create a special species, just one whale, just for Jonah? How did God get every creature in the ark? Were they standing on top of each other? It doesn't matter how. He did it. Enough said. The faith is there...but I can't wait to ask Him ~how~. Enough said. I like that phrase!
Lovely post! I love that God has made us curious...there are so many neat things to explore. I'm glad my faith and my salvation are not determined by whether or not I figure all those things out! Bless you today!
Good post Karen. I feel for that little boy who needs things to be so concrete. He is so much like many people today. They can't believe unless they see the works. But then they only follow Him for the works and not for the relationship.
Thanks for sharing your heart today.
Outstanding post Karen! God said it, enough said! Folks make things way too complicated.
Blessings and hugs!
Yes, if we put more mental energy into figuring out how to apply God's truth, rather than trying to figure out "how He did it," we'd all be better off. Thanks for the reminder.
Wonderful post, bless you.
“Are we willing to set aside the energy we put into “figuring out” how this whale of a tale could have happened. Applying it to our faith instead?”
I confess. I am guilty of trying to figure things out. Thanks for the reminder.
Hi! It's me again. I'm commenting because I cannot find your e-mail address.
Please visit my blog today. I've nominated (awarded) your CHILDREN's BLOG the Brillante Weblog Award. My kids sit on my lap while we read this one :-)
[Honestly, I don't understand the whole process - award? nominate? who really knows) . . but I pick YOU!
There's a graphic for you to pick up and display on my Oct. 6th post. (It's "html widget language") :-)
Keep blogging! You are a blessing to your readers!
Kindest Thoughts,
-esthermay
Post a Comment