Friday
Jonah, I think, is a good representation of many of us. God calls us to go to a place we don’t want to go and so we foolishly think we can ignore God and all will be well. Jonah is told to go deliver a message to a very scary place, a very ungodly, pagan place. Nineveh. Hating the Ninevites Jonah leaves on a ship to go in the exact opposite direction until God steps in and helps Jonah change his mind. A storm comes up and the only way the captain and crew can save themselves is to throw Jonah overboard. It seems to me that the “heathen” crew are acting more godly than the man of God.
Jonah, who thought he was going to die because of his disobedience is instead swallowed by a large fish. Ewww. Can you imagine the smell, the slime? How disgusting can it get. Now think about this as an allegory to our running away from God’s will, the punishment for our disobedience to God. Where do we end up?
So Jonah is given some time to think about what he should do. And he offers up a prayer. This prayer you may have noticed is not a prayer for help but a prayer of thanksgiving. Kind of a strange scene. A prophet of God, praising God in the belly of a “great fish.”
And he repents and comes to the conclusion that you can’t run and hide from God, because sees all and knows all about us. Jonah faces his fears and his prejudice (yes Jonah doesn’t understand why God is his helping this pagan city) and tells the people of Nineveh to repent or their city will be destroyed.
Strange thing here is that the city repents and disaster is averted and Jonah is unhappy. Jonah has a hard time getting over his prejudice of the Ninevites, but we must remember that God loves all of his children and wants only for them to return to him.
So what can we learn from Jonah?
Have you ever thought, “If I make the wrong choice too many times God won’t or can’t forgive me. The mistakes in my past will keep me from being what God wants me to be. Or, I’m just a loser and I will always make bad decisions. Well, here’s the good news. Bad choices can be redeemed. Our sins can never be greater than the grace of God. Our wrong choices can never be greater than the love of God. Our past mistakes do not determine what we will become in the future, because God gives us opportunities to repent, be forgiven and be redeemed, just like he did Jonah and the people of Nineveh.
Here’s why I know this. Even though Jonah thought he could hide from God, God came after him and in a very dramatic way rescued Jonah to prove that God is in control. That God will get our attention one way or another and He will forgive our bad choices and redeem us. You see, no matter how bad the choices are we have made in the past, God wants to redeem us. He wants us to learn to make good choices in the future by knowing and following God.
Sharing His Story!
Pastor Kathy