During the advent season, we are waiting on the arrival of our Lord and Savior.  We know  He will present to the world an opportunity to be healed, delivered, and set free. We were all broken down by sin, and it did not seem possible to recover from our mistakes.  We came to the conclusion: our sins have broken us beyond repair. The possibility of being delivered was not an option. So the idea of us being set free from our sins was not something we considered. A world without Jesus, becomes a world of despair and many believe there is no hope. That’s why we are excited during the advent season, because Jesus’ arrival brought hope to the world. Through His actions, we all have the opportunity to receive God’s grace and mercy. God wants to forgive, but are you willing to repent?

In Jonah 3:10-4:5, God is being gracious to a nation that caused a tremendous amount of pain and anguish to Israel. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry out against it. Once Jonah received his assignment, he went in the opposite direction. Why, because he felt these people did not deserve a chance to repent. Jonah knew what they did against Israel and other nations and he could not understand why God was giving them a chance to correct the wrongs in their lives. By Jonah being disobedient to the will of the Lord, he ended up in the belly of a large fish. Once he was there, he prayed to God to deliver him from hurt and harm. Three days later the fish spit him out onto dry land. 

Then Jonah did as God instructed and headed to Nineveh, and cried out giving them a chance to repent of their sins. The king and all the people responded by repenting of their wrongs, and God forgave them. This was upsetting to Jonah, because he knew that God’s plan  was to give them a chance to acknowledge their mistakes and repent to God. Jonah knew the character of God, and that He is gracious and merciful. God presents a question to Jonah, “is it right for you to be angry?”. The answer is no, because when he was trapped in the belly of the fish because of his disobedience, he cried out to God for help.  and he had the fish spit Jonah on to dry land. In this situation, Jonah experienced the grace and mercy of God. Guess what, Jonah was not mad at God for delivering him. It’s amazing how we can find ourselves wanting to be judge and jury on the lives of others, but we want God to show us grace and mercy. Jesus came to make a way for the entire world to be saved through His actions, and nobody can pass judgment on another. Because, no one deserves His grace and mercy. 

Jesus came to the world to let us know we needed a Savior, and all will be accepted by the Father, if we accept the Son. Jesus came to give the world a chance to have hope. Through hope we will be healed, delivered, and set free. This is why we have love, joy, and peace, by the arrival of Jesus Christ. No one deserves it, but the Lord knew we needed it. Continue to walk in your blessings