Jonah 1: 1-17
The story of Jonah is one we are all familiar with and, according to Jonah, God gives him an impossible task. He’s to bring the entire city of Nineveh to repentance. Jonah knew Nineveh, and what the people were like, and he must have been terrified to go there. The citizens of Nineveh were feared for their ruthlessness and cruel attitude.
In Jonah’s eyes the calling was massive and he felt it was well above his capabilities. Mind you, this experience makes Jonah the most reluctant prophet in history but also the most successful. No other prophet resisted his calling more, but no other prophet saw greater fruit when delivering God’s message.
God still calls people the same way to serve him. With Jonah the emphasis is on the urgency of obeying God’s call. Don’t you get the feeling that there is a hint of us in the story, in that Jonah didn’t accept and obey straight away. He did a runner from God, so instead of staying to see the bigger picture, Jonah looked at the situation and made up his mind that he wasn’t going to Nineveh. So often we take the negative approach when examining what God wants us to do.
The story here illustrates that, while God uses us as His instruments, His will ultimately is not changed by our disobedience. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He doesn’t put us in situations that we can’t handle, He always prepares the way for us.
Although we cooperate with His will, it is God who determines the outcome. When we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our being, and all our strength, we are free to enjoy the good things of this life in a healthy way, as blessings of God and signs to us of His goodness. As the Lord Jesus himself says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).
When we read of the calling of the first disciples we discover they were far from perfect, but they were willing to give up their livelihoods the instant Jesus called them. We do not have to be perfect to do God's work, and for James & John it would also mean leaving their own father behind. Was their father important to them? Absolutely. Did they love him? Yes, they did. However, Jesus had called them and even though they hadn’t yet heard his teaching, James and John were literally observing Christ’s words, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:37). This message can be challenging to many people, but doing God’s will always enables us to love the people in our life even more.
If anything, or anyone, stands in the way of us following God completely we need to reconsider our relationship with that object or person. Jonah knew he was wrong in running away, but God called him again and this time he obeyed and went to serve God in Nineveh and was used by him mightily. The old chorus says it all.
Let Go and Let God Have His Wonderful Way,
Let Go and Let God Have His Way.
Your Burdens Will Vanish,
Your Night Turn To Day.
Let Go And Let God Have His Way.
Every Blessing.
Tom Bonnar
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