Is There a Message from God in your Inbox? by Rose McCormick Brandon

My present journey through the Bible has landed me in the book of Jonah, a good place to land in January. When Jonah opened his in-box he found a message from God. "Go to Nineveh and warn them to repent of their sins."
"Forget it," replied Jonah. He refused to make an investment in the useless people of Nineveh. Nobody wanted that assignment.
Jonah hopped on a ship and headed for the bright lights of Tarshish, an exotic place like Las Vegas, teeming with famous faces. Money flowed in and out of the ports of Tarshish. Anybody who wanted to make it big in the world went there.
Cool people went to Tarshish. Losers went to Nineveh.
You and I have assignments from God. We are alive and breathing on planet Earth in 2013 for a reason - to serve Him in a divinely appointed way.
Like Jonah, sometimes we get sidetracked by the appeal of bright lights. Our divine project appears meaningless when compared to the important things others are doing. We say things like 'anyone can do what I'm doing. God doesn't need me.'
Or, are you one of those who is diligently pursuing your God calling and receiving little response for your efforts? Few encouraging words come your way. You plod on but discouragement presses you from every side.
Has your calling taken you to the cold outback of Nineveh when you really wanted to go to a be-dazzled Tarshish?
Today, let's commit the days we have left on this earth to Jesus. Let's refuse to see the world from a winner/loser viewpoint. In Him, there are no losers, only ordinary people like you and me opening our in-boxes and finding divine assignments.

Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

Jonah took the scenic route to Nineveh. But eventually he got there and much to his surprise the people listened to his God message.

Rose McCormick Brandon’s most recent book is He Loves Me Not . . . He Loves Me. Her articles and essays are published in magazines, books, newspapers and devotionals in Canada and the U.S. She is an award-winning writer who specializes in personal experience, faith, life stories and the British Home Child Immigration period of Canadian history. Rose is married to Doug and lives in Caledonia, Ontario. She has three adult children and two grandchildren. Visit her blogs: The Promise of Home and Listening to My Hair Grow. Contact her at: rosembrandon@yahoo.ca.