Jonah

I've read and heard the story of Jonah many times since I was a kid. But I read it again today, some of it. A couple of things....

Chapter One speaks about how God gave him a commandment to go to Nineveh to tell them about their sinfulness, and that it was going to be their ruin unless they repented and turned to God.

Jonah immediately said "Hell, no. Not me. I'm not the one for the job." His pride and disbelief caused him to catch the next ship out, and run. Once he boarded the ship, he went down to a lower deck level, crawled up on a bunk, went to sleep, and forgot about the whole thing because he was "safe" and could go about his business.

A couple hours later, he was shaken awake by the captain, telling him that there was an immense storm outside, and that he should get up to the upper deck and pray to his god like the others were doing to help calm the storm.

The crew and the captain didn't know who's god amoung them had caused the storm, so they were all praying to see which god would find mercy on them and relieve the storm. The crew finally cast lots of chance to see who was at fault for the storm - and the lots happened to fall on Jonah. He confessed that it was probably him, as he was on the run from God for a job that he had been called to do, but refused.

The fact that his God could pronounce such command over the seas for one man's guilt caused fright among the men. At first, the crew rowed desperately to get out of the waves and storm, and once they saw that their own efforts were futile, they prayed blindly to Jonah's God for relief. They saw that they needed to rid the ship of the "sin" in order to find peace - so they case Jonah into the sea. The moment that Jonah's body hit the waters and he began to sink, the sea ceased to rage.

This very miracle, prayed out of blind faith by this crew of sailors, caused them to see the power of God, and they were saved with the Lord's grace. They made their sacrifices to God and made vows to His glory.

Amazing how one man's life (Jonah) had such an impact - and he hadn't even fulfilled God's calling yet. He was in the midst of running from his God and his mission, and just his "running" was used for God's glory. The crew dropped their gods to follow Jonah's, even as Jonah was sinking to his death, or what the crew thought, to the bottom of the sea.

Jonah's path was anointed. He just didn't know it. He thought that once he escaped onto the ship that he could go catch a few hours of sleep, forget about his problem and let it pass, and soon he would be somewhere else, and not have to deal with the calling to Nineveh. Plus, what was he going to say when he got there anyway? "Repent or you'll die." They'd think he was a lunatic, right? So he was safe, and he didn't have to look like a lunatic to the people of Nineveh. But the Lord was determined to use him for His glory, for His purpose, for His mission - to save the people of Nineveh. He didn't follow the path that the Lord had for him immediately, but that didn't mean that the Lord left him at any point in his life or his journey. He was with him throughout, on the ship while he was sleeping, and even when he was swallowed by the fish on the way down to the depths of the sea.....

The casting of Jonah (the "sin") overboard is much like confessing sin in our lives - ridding the guilt and cleansing our souls for mercy from the storms that rage in our worlds. God touched these mens' lives with Jonah's sin. In our weakness, God is strong, and he uses all for His glory. If you notice, Jonah was long gone, overboard, before these men confessed their lives to the Lord. Jonah would never know that they were "saved" because of something that he had done. This is much like how we touch people in our lives .... we may never know how our lives impact those around us.

Chapter 2 next..... this book is intriguing to me.

Soon....

I apologize I've been lacking in posts in the last few weeks. I've been so out-of-pocket on life lately. So much going on. I'm anxious to get back to writing!!!!! See you all soon. Thanks for checking in!