Life throws us many surprises each and every day. Some of them are good surprises and some of them not so good. Some of them we bring upon ourselves. Others are brought upon us by others that are no fault of our own. And still others are allowed by God in our lives. The next time your teen makes a mistake, remember the story of Jonah.
As a result of Jonah's disobedience to God, God sent a great wind which resulted in a violent storm. This storm not only affected Jonah, but also other sailors in the boat with him. When asked by the sailors about what they should do after they received, not surprisingly, no answer from their gods, Jonah thought his only way out was to be thrown overboard.
But God eventually got Jonah's attention with the help of a big fish and he did obey God by going to Nineveh to preach to them to turn from their wicked ways or else. They did repent right away and God relented from His anger.
We learn from Jonah 4 that God is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, and a God who relents from sending calamity.
God can take our teens' mistakes and turn them into beautiful teaching moments. That's how God disciplines us into who He wants us to be (Hebrews 12). One more thing I learned from Jonah is that he thought his only way out from his mistake was to be thrown overboard to his death. Sometimes teens irrationally think that after a mistake that there is no way out. Help them to see their way out and up toward God's perfect plan. Use those mistakes as teaching moments. They are being shaped into who God wants them to be.
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