October 23 | Jonah 4:10-11

“So the Lord said, “You are compassionate for the plant for which you did not labor nor did you make it grow, which was started in a night and perished in a night. “Yet should I not have compassion for Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know between their right hand and their left, and much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10–11)

Every day I look at my task list and prioritize what gets done and what gets pushed off to the next day. Priorities guide our lives. When push comes to shove and the deadline looms we must decide what deserves more of our attention.

God raised up a plant to take care of Jonah in a single night and destroyed it the next night. Jonah’s reaction showed his misplaced priorities. While God cared about his archenemies as much as He cared for the Israelites Jonah only cared about their destruction. He cared about himself.

One plant exposed Jonah’s wrong motives and priorities. What shows your priorities and what you care about? Your bank account? Your actions? Your thoughts? People and their salvation is the overwhelmingly high priority for Jesus.

He longs for them to be with Him. And he planted you right where you are to be His light and represent Him to everyone around you. You may not like where you are in life but God doesn’t make mistakes. You’re there to grow and grow others.

Action Step: Check your priorities. Where have they been in line with Jesus? Where have you gotten distracted by other things? Reorder your priorities for eternal rewards.

Lord Jesus, show me where I am wrong. Expose my shortsighted priorities and make me a great evangelist for Your Kingdom. Make me a blessing to everyone around me. Build my priorities on the people who need You.