I watched a show called “Veggie Tales” recently. It is a show on a Christian station geared towards children. It teaches bible stories with humor using various vegetables as the characters. I watched the story about Jonah. When God told Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh, he chose instead to go to Tarshish. It showed Jonah running away from the Lord heading for Tarshish. As God called Jonah’s name, he would sing out “I can’t hear you” repeatedly, while running away from God. It was a humorous way of showing Jonah’s rebellion against God.
Then I started thinking, are we not guilty of the same behavior today? When we do not want to do something that the Holy Spirit tells us to do, we pretend not to hear. It does not have to be something as big as Jonah’s mission. It could be something much smaller that the Holy Spirit tells us to do.
I try to let the Holy Spirit lead me in my daily life. It could be something small. If we do not listen in the small things and learn that He does know everything, we may have a hard time trusting Him in the big things.
Recently, I placed a takeout order at a local restaurant. There was a choice of yellow or white rice. I tend to prefer yellow rice but felt the Holy Spirit telling me to order the white. When it came time to place the order, I decided to get the yellow rice. After all, what could be wrong with that. The yellow rice turned out to be very salty that day. As soon as I tasted it, I knew why the Holy Spirit had said not to order it. It was something small, but it was a reminder of the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit even when we do not understand His leading.
If we let Him, He will cause us to make wise decisions small and big.