Daily Devotional for Wednesday, July 29

Jonah in Awe

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not,” Jonah 3:10.
One of the many powers that the president of the United States enjoys is the power to pardon people or commute their sentences. There may be many reasons that the president may consider in determining whether someone should be pardoned or not. Many times, one can see how the person has changed their life for the better. In turning their life around, they may have shown a pattern of change and remorse and have taken steps to make right the wrongs that they have committed. It may be very surprising to the families and people involved to see the change that has taken place and as a result the person has now been pardoned.
The people of Nineveh had listened to the preaching of Jonah and took his proclamation to heart that the Lord was going to destroy them. The king and the people cried out to the Lord in repentance, not knowing if the Lord would change His mind or not (Jonah 3:8, 9). God had seen that they had truly changed their ways and repented of their evil deeds, so God decided to withhold the punishment that he had said would come upon them (Jonah 3:10). Their attitudes toward God had changed and they now had the same desire that King David had when he said; “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24). Nobody was as surprised at the pardon of Nineveh by the Lord as were the people of Nineveh because they knew that they did not deserve a pardon.

REFLECTION
Without hesitation, we should repent of our evil and cry out to the Lord also and say “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great” (Psalm 25:11).

Tim Chambers