Thursday, May 12, 2016

When reading the book of Jonah in the Old Testament it’s clear that God had some great plans to use Jonah in the city of Nineveh. The focus of the book is, Mobilized to Minister. Let’s continue our study to see how this focus is amplified. When the word of the Lord came to Jonah there was great potential for significant things to happen. But when you’re in a situation like this, you also have the sense that there is great risk. In this case God told Jonah that the city of Nineveh was very wicked and He wanted him to go to this city and preach a message of judgment upon it. That would be challenging and quite scary. How would they respond to a Hebrew prophet who would come to speak against them in this way? Fear of the unknown can be intimidating. It’s amazing to me how creative I can become in similar situations, developing all kinds of alternate options or rationalizations. Jonah knew that when God called He also had an answer for every excuse Jonah could come up with, so he decided to just run away to Tarshish, a city on Western part of the Mediterranean Sea. What would you consider to be your Nineveh today? What do you feel God is asking you to do, that you consider to be risky or scary? Are you willing to obey God, no matter what you might fear? Jonah wasn’t willing. He ran from God. What a sad set of unintended consequences resulted from his decision. The same can happen to you and those around you if you turn your back on God’s call.