Missing it

"Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs."  Jonah 2:8 NET Bible

In the middle of Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish he prays these words.  They captivated me years ago and I reflect on them often.  

One version said it this way, "Those who worship worthless idols forsake the grace that could have been theirs."

It's amazing how profound a man can get in the belly of a fish.  It's as if Jonah finally got it.  After three days of smelly, silent  darkness he realizes that he was missing it!

When we worship (love, seek, pursue, care about, invest in) anything above God we miss it!  We miss the grace that could have been ours in the midst of that moment.

Don't miss the grace that could be yours because of a fascination with this trinket or that relationship.   Don't lose the most important thing of life because you're just too busy.

Once more I think of the words of Screwtape from C.S. Lewis' classic book, "The Screwtape letters" when he recounts to a lesser demon one man's realization upon arriving in hell, "I did neither what I ought nor what I wanted."

Don't miss it.