Category: Jonah

The sea was getting rougher and rougher.  So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm.  I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” (Jonah 1:11-12)

Wow.

Way to own it, Jonah.

We make so many excuses.  We give so many reasons to justify our actions.

Or our inactions.

I teach middle school.  Trust me, I’ve heard about every excuse there is.  Those lovely little people can shift the blame like nobody’s business.  Somehow, in their world, the responsibility for failing a test, not doing homework, chewing gum, talking out of turn, falls squarely on the shoulders of

Someone else.

It is refreshing when on occasion I meet a student—or an adult, for that matter—who is willing to stand up and take responsibility for their actions.

No matter the consequences.

Lord, I am like Jonah in so many ways–make this one of them.

It’s not the easy way, Beloved.

But it is The Way.

Happy Wednesday.

They asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do?  Where do you come from?  What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land.” (Jonah 8-9)

He ran from God.

But…

He stood for God.

In the midst of the calamity that was his fault, surrounded by angry, frightened accusers pointing the finger at him, confronted by the disastrous results of his own disobedience, Jonah did not deny who he was or to whom he belonged.

Would we do as well, Beloved?

I hope so.

Happy Tuesday.

All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god.  And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship (Jonah 1:5).

What a sad picture.

These frantic men, faced with a problem that was way beyond them.

Calling out to gods that are not God.

Attempting to solve a spiritual crisis by worldly means.  Hurting themselves because worldly wisdom says it will help.  Because that’s all they know.

That used to be us, Beloved.

Sometimes, it still is.

I’m going to avoid the “Storms of life” metaphor.  It’s already in your head anyway. Let me just remind you of this: You know the false gods you called on in the past, and you know they were powerless.  As for fixing things yourself…well…you remember how that worked out.

But you are no longer that person. Now, you know who to cry out to.  You know who can rescue you. And you know that Pride is the only thing keeping you from calling for help.

Pride, threatening to drag you to the bottom of the metaphoric ocean.

Throw that nasty little piece of cargo overboard and call out to Him, Beloved.

He’s waiting for you.

Happy Monday.

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid… (Jonah 1:4-5).

The Law of Unintended Consequences.

I’m sure that Jonah wasn’t trying to put a bunch of pagan sailors in jeopardy.

I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about them at all.

He was just…running.

But when you run from God, when you deliberately put yourself outside of His will, stuff’s gonna happen.  You put yourself and others in situations that God never intended for you. Sin is like a nuclear blast, with fallout that you can neither predict nor control.

Bottom line—your sin is not just your own.  People can get hurt because of your disobedience.

Time for a heart check, Beloved.  Are there areas in your life you need to fix, sins you need to confess, attitudes you need to repent of?

Because you know, people are getting wet.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran away from the Lord…  (Jonah 1:1-3)

I talk a good game.

I say that I wish God would just be clear, tell me exactly what he wants of me.

And yet…

You know what I’m talking about.  You’re praying, asking for God’s guidance, and you get an answer.  A full-blown, here’s-what-I-want-you-to-do-Kid sort of answer. You know it in your heart.

But…

It’s not the answer you wanted.

In fact, it’s totally wrong.

So you run.

Oh, you may not hop a ship to Tarshish, but you run.

Why is it that when we say “Thy will…” we usually mean, “My will…?”

Because…you know…human.

Beloved, as we head into Thursday, let’s try a little experiment.. Let’s pray that God would use us—no strings attached.  However, wherever and with whomever he chooses. Let’s lay ourselves at his feet and await his command. And then let’s follow.

Yeah, I know it’s a scary concept, but we trust him.

Right?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Final thoughts before we leave Jonah son of Amittai…

Jonah wanted to serve God.

On Jonah’s terms.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is portrayed in many ways in Scripture.

We are servant, disciple, ambassador, friend, brother, child, Bride.

Never—not once—contract employee.

A contract employee signs an agreement to do a specified job for a specified amount of pay.  Employer and employee negotiate over duties and payment, and the employee is not expected to perform any tasks not detailed in the negotiations.

“Sorry,” he can say, “That’s not in my contract.”

The Lord of the Universe doesn’t work that way.

He’s not interested in negotiation—only surrender.

Utter, complete obedience and submission, whether you understand what he’s doing or not.  Whether you like what he’s doing or not. It sounds harsh, and I wouldn’t recommend it with anyone else but the One who gave his only son, that if you trust him you shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

So once again, we find ourselves at the question: Do you trust him, Beloved?

Submit boldly today.  Kneel tall, and surrender at the top of your lungs.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

The Lord said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow…but Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.  Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (Jonah 4:10-11)

Ouch.

Sometimes, it’s just too much for me.

The heart of God, I mean.

My world is so small, the things that affect me so close, I forget that God cares about the whole world.

All of it.

Even the cows.

I am important to him, yes.

So very important.

But so are the others.

There are, quite literally, millions upon millions of people out there who are living without Christ, who don’t know right from wrong because they have never been introduced to Truth.

And my biggest worry today is how I’m going to get the latest stack of papers graded and still make it to my parent meeting on time.

I’ve always wondered what Jonah’s response to God’s question was.  Did getting a peek into the scope of God’s love change his perspective?

Does it change mine?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” 

“I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”  (Jonah 4:9)

Wow, Jonah

Childish, much?

Look, I’d love to say that I can’t identify with Jonah at all here, that I’ve never been whiny and self-righteous and small before the Lord.

But He knows better.

And, probably, so do you.

What amazes me at this point in the story is God’s reaction. He reasons with Jonah, talks him off the ledge. Frankly, after all of Jonah’s lip and disobedience I would likely say, “You got it, kid!” and reduce him to a pile of fish-smelling ashes.

Let’s call it Reason #8635 to be glad I’m not God, and give a loud Huzzah for mercy.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” (Jonah 4:9). 

God has asked Jonah this before.

It’s a good question…and a good reminder.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. “

That would be Job, a man who knew a thing or three about suffering. 

Job understood.

Jonah, not so much.

And what of you, Beloved of Christ? Do you have a right to be angry over the wrongs, the slights, the misfortunes and mistreatments of life? Or do you recognize that everything–everything–has its place in God’s design? 

Trust and Obey–two of the toughest tasks we’ll ever encounter.

But the reward is pretty nifty.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

Jonah wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:8).

Have you been there, Beloved?

Before we write Jonah off as overly dramatic, can you identify with him? Have you ever been in a place where your outward circumstances and your inward turmoil were just too much, and you wanted it all to be done? 

Well, then.

I don’t know what got you out of that place, or if you are out of that place. All I can point out is that the more Jonah focused on his circumstances, his desires, and what he saw as the proper outcome, the more frustrated and disappointed and angry he got. In fact, the only time in this narrative that Jonah seems truly at peace is when he abandons any sense of his own righteousness or understanding and focuses entirely on the mercy of God. 

And that happened, oddly enough, in the belly of the fish.

Go figure.

Happy Monday, Beloved.