My Way (Fear) vs.

God's Way (Trust)

We want things to go our way; it’s only human. If only life would mold and bend to our desires, and if
fate would just dutifully play out our expectations, maybe then we’d be happy. . . right? Much of our
desire to control our world, however, can be traced back to our own deeper fear: that we can’t trust in
God.

God chose Jonah to “cry out” against the city of Nineveh, but since Jonah was afraid, he took a different
path, and ended up in a rough and unpleasant situation. Even after Jonah eventually made it to Nineveh,
he disagreed with God’s decision about showing mercy on the people. Repeatedly, Jonah failed because
he thought he knew better than God did. He messed up, and he needed redemption.

Here’s a few other Biblical characters who messed up

1. The first family

 Adam, the first man, was a blame shifter who couldn’t resist peer pressure. (Genesis
3:12: The man replied, “It was the woman You gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate
it.”)
 Eve, the first woman, couldn’t control her appetite and, should we say, had the first
eating disorder? (Genesis 3:6 Eve She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked
delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit
and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.)
 Cain, the firstborn human being, murdered his brother. (Genesis 4:8 One day Cain
suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field,
Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.)
2. Joseph began as a braggart that wanted to lift himself up in front of his brothers, but went
on to be an example of patience, wisdom, and forgiveness of those same brothers. Do you
sometimes boast about your blessings? You can appreciate those blessings, but speaking
about them too much might hurt the people around you.
3. Moses tried to achieve justice by killing an Egyptian, but went on to lead God's people to
freedom with peace and patience. God redeemed Moses when he was 80 years old and told
him He had something big in mind for him.
4. David let his lust get the better of him and then covered it up with murder, but went on to
repent wholeheartedly. He wrote many more Psalms after his affair with Bathsheba, many
of them about how God redeemed him.
5. Abraham and Sarah were given a promise of a son and that Abraham would be the Father of
many nations, but it took too long so they “helped” God. God redeemed them and forgave
their running on ahead and fulfilled His plan in His way and His time.

The Bible is full of messed up people who were unable to do what they were called to do without relying
on God. They often tried to do things in their own strength, and it always backfired.

1. Paul
a. Jewish Pharisee
i. A Jew’s Jew – Jewish to the core
ii. Tormented and killed Christians
1. Held cloaks while Stephen was stoned
 2. Acts 8:1 – Paul/Saul agreed with the decision to stone Stephen to death
b. High priest gave Saul letters
i. Addressed to Damascus synagogues
ii. Comply with him to capture Christians
c. Road to Damascus conversion
i. Chief of sinners
ii. Called to share Gospel with Jews & Gentiles
iii. Wrote most of the New Testament
1. A bunch of it while in prison!
d. Are you letting your past hold you back? Remember that you are a brand-new creation.
The old you is gone. The new you is different. Let your actions and attitudes come out of
the “new you.”
2. Jonah
a. Jewish prophet
i. Contemporary of Hosea and Amos
b. Told where to go and what to do
i. Did the exact opposite of what God told him to do.
1. Racist bigot
2. Hated Ninevites
ii. Ninevah was 500 miles east, but Tarshish was 5400 miles west
1. Why? Wanted to be as far away from God as possible
2. Psalm 139:7-12 “Where can I go that You are not there?”
c. Followed his own desires
i. Went opposite of God’s wishes
1. Repented in the fish
ii. Did not get up from being spit out and go to Ninevah
1. Jonah 3:1 – Lord spoke a SECOND time to Jonah.
2. 3:3 THIS TIME Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command
iii. God spared Ninevah because they repented
1. Jonah got mad 4:1 because God didn’t destroy the Ninevites
a. Jonah hated the Ninevites
2. Jonah 4:5-8 – happy for the plant, but mad that God took it away
a. 4:10-11 you feel sorry about the plant that you did nothing to
grow.
b. Shouldn’t I feel sorry/have compassion for the 120,000 people?
c. Ends with a question. If I feel sorry for them, shouldn’t you?
3. Today
a. We’re still called to be God’s hands and feet
i. We – like Jonah – go opposite way
b. Called to put God first
i. We often put everything EXCEPT God first
1. He gets our leftover time
2. We do it in the name of family
3. No absolute truths anymore
 ii. FB Quote: “At some point you expect life to get easier, that maybe you’ll catch a
break, but the struggles continue, all the time. Don’t get me wrong; I have a lot
to be thankful for, but how did things end up being so hard? How much is a
person supposed to be able to take? When do you just give up? I’m really just
sick of trying to keep my head up. I’m just done.”
1. Matthew 19:26
a. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is
impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
2. John 6:65-68
a. 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me
unless the Father gives them to me.” 66 At this point many of his
disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to
the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon
Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the
words that give eternal life
3. Isaiah 40:29-31
a. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even
youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in
exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new
strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run
and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
4. Galatians 6:9
a. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time
we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
5. James 1:12
a. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.
Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has
promised to those who love him.
6. Matthew 11:28
a. Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and
carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
The only way that failure can get the last word in our life is if we choose to let it. We serve a God
who is able to take our defeats and missteps and still use us to bring glory to His name. Whether
you’ve been walking with Him faithfully or you’ve had a few stumbles along the way, He’s
encouraging you to help build His kingdom.

1. God is completely and unapologetically honest in His depiction of the human condition.
On the other hand, we struggle with letting others see us as we really are. The
temptation is to misrepresent ourselves and put on a mask, but that just causes further
damage. The Gospel invites us to come into and live in the light.
2. Whether or not you are dysfunctional cannot be equated with our standing before God.
In other words, most of those we have mentioned can be characterized as righteous—or
at least people of faith as we see in Hebrews 11. It’s not so much what our issues are—
it’s how we handle our issues. In addition, even if our heart condemns us, God is greater
 than our heart. (1 John 3:20) The Apostle Paul spent a lot of his energy struggling against
sin but left the task of judging himself with God. (1 Corinthians 4:3 – “As for me, it
matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t
even trust my own judgment on this point.”)
3. Sin certainly does have consequences. Pain, brokenness, loss, even death, follow our
bad choices. Hopefully, our desire to get rid of sin in our lives is driven by our gratitude
and love for God. However, if for no other reason, we should at least avoid it to escape
the incredible pain that accompanies it. (Galatians 6:7 – “Don’t be misled—you cannot
mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”)
4. We do not have to feel alone in our sufferings. We’ve been given a cloud of witnesses
that can identify with how messy life can be. When you look at the list of Biblical
ancestors in Hebrews 11 who are counted as righteous and read about what they did,
we can take some comfort in knowing that people in those Biblical times were just as
messed up as we are today. It should make us feel a bit better knowing that we can get
through our challenges of today and that one day we will be relieved of our striving
against sin. (Hebrews 12:3-4 “Think of all the hostility Jesus endured from sinful people;
then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives
in your struggle against sin.”)
5. There is most certainly grace to be had. It’s what the Gospel is all about. No one can
unscramble scrambled eggs—except God. So let us take our scrambled lives to God who
understands and has mercy. (Hebrews 4:16 – “So let us come boldly to the throne of our
gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when
we need it most.”) This is what redemption is all about.