Brian Dolleman's Blog

Most people knock before opening the door to my office.

I think that’s nice and polite—the right thing to do.

Someone, however, enters every time without knocking.

And I have no complaints about it.

I’m talking about my daughter.

She boldly comes right in.

Usually she’s there to get something…

A hug, snacks, permission to do something or go somewhere, free wifi, fashion advice, etc.

I love it. She’s my girl. She knows she belongs and has a right to be there—so she comes in without knocking.

This is a picture of what God wants us to do with him.

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. (Hebrews 4.16 NLT)

There’s no need to knock. Don’t wait around outside. Boldly come.

Another translation puts it this way:

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace…

God’s grace is there—ready for you to receive.

Go ahead. Enter in, without knocking.

You’re His kid. He loves you…

And He graciously provides what you need.

Jonah was a recipient of God’s grace.

The disobedient runner got swallowed up in grace—rescued and given another chance.

Jonah finally gets around to Nineveh on assignment from God.

He went reluctantly and rebelliously.

Rather than preaching the whole message, he only preached half…

“You will be destroyed”

Jonah left out the “Turn and be saved” part.

Rather than going to everyone, he only went to a third of the people.

What should have taken three days to accomplish, Jonah gave just one day—and then left.

To summarize: Jonah preached 1/2  of the message to 1/3 of the people…

And God saved 100% of them.

There’s something about God’s grace you should know:

It’s contagious.

Jonah didn’t expect that.

The grumpy prophet received grace.

He didn’t understand that being a recipient of God’s grace automatically turns you into a conduit of God’s grace.

But it does. That’s God’s plan—His agenda.

So, as a recipient of God’s grace, you’re gonna be contagious.

His grace will flow through you to others.

You might as well be thankful…

Thankful and contagious.

If anybody ever “went through it,” Job did.

Dude was wealthy, healthy, and had a huge, happy family…

And then, one day, all hell broke loose.

Job lost his wealth.

His children all died on the same day in a freak storm.

Job became sick and was in excruciating pain.

So how did Job respond to all of this?

When he lost his wealth and his children…

Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1.20, 21 NKJV)

When he became sick…

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. (Job 2.10 NIV)

Job’s wife, while going through incredible hardship, became tough.

Job stayed tender.

That’s unusual, impressive, and worth pausing to think about.

Selah.

When we’re “going through it” (and we will), we have a good example to model after…

Job, who was tender, not tough.

Jonah emerged from the whale with a hard heart.

He was unhappy about an entire city receiving the grace of God because he wanted them to be destroyed.

Jonah turned his anger towards God. He threw a temper tantrum and said he wanted to die.

Not exactly a soft heart.

In life, we all experience pain, rejection, disappointment, failure, setback, and difficulty.

When we find ourselves in the belly of a whale—in an uncomfortable place—we must allow it to soften us up, not toughen us up.

In my 8+ years of working in an animal hospital, I saw lots of dogs who’d been mistreated and hurt.

Basically, these dogs fell into one of two categories:

1. Skittish.

2. Aggressive.

The skittish dogs could seem almost normal at times—but then would snap because something had set them off. My story of being bit in the face by an Australian Sheepdog is a perfect illustration of a skittish dog snapping. He wasn’t aggressive or evil. He got scared, and snapped. Literally. He snapped at my face with his teeth and left a hole in my cheek (which is why I drop-kicked him like a football).

We saw plenty of aggressive dogs too. Some had been beaten in order to turn them into vicious fighting dogs. And they were scary.

The pain these dogs experienced had toughened them up.

Unfortunately, their skittish or aggressive nature didn’t just make life difficult for people around them…

It actually ruined their own lives.

That’s right.

They couldn’t get adopted.

They would eventually be dropped off at an animal shelter.

They would be among the first to be euthanized.

Their toughness ruined their own lives.

This doesn’t just happen to dogs.

It’s true with people too.

Our toughness has the potential to ruin our own lives…

Which is why—when we’re in an uncomfortable place and things aren’t going our way—we need to soften up, not toughen up.

The Bible doesn’t encourage us to get tough, callous, or hard when experiencing pain.

Instead, it says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds”. (James 1.2 NIV)

Remember, when you’re in the belly of a whale, consider it an opportunity to soften up.