Many of us know the story of Jonah. He was a preacher. God wanted to use him to change the hearts of the people in the evil city of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go, so instead he hopped on a boat to flee in the opposite direction, disobeying God and thinking he could get away with it. We all know how this story ends. A storm comes, and Jonah gets thrown overboard into the sea, where he is swallowed by a great fish.
What really struck me as I read this familiar story recently, is found in verses 3-6 of chapter 1 of Jonah.
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah 1:3-6
But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Running from the Lord is costly, y’all!
Jonah paid to board a ship in order to get away from God’s will. Nothing works out well when we attempt to run our lives the way we want. And while we’re running from God others see us! These fellow passengers on the ship knew that Jonah served God. What would it do for Jonah’s testimony if these people knew he was deliberately disobeying God?
Not only did Jonah disobey God, but he fell fast asleep in a ship that was in the middle of a horrendous storm. Sounds like he was pretty relaxed. How easy is it for us to sleep at night when we have unconfessed sin in our lives? Does it bother you when you are out of the will of God? If Jonah can be comfortable living in sin, rest assured, we can all be found guilty of the same crime.
Jonah’s life got pretty scary and disgusting when he woke up. He had to live in uncomfortable conditions (inside the belly of a fish…gross…) for a while until he got his life right with God. Likewise, when we ‘wake up’ and realize our sinfulness, sometimes we have to live with the consequences of this sin for a while. Until God moves us into another season of life. He is such a loving, forgiving God. He forgives us immediately upon asking Him to, and I’m so thankful for that. But it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes we get ourselves into predicaments we never had to be in, had we not been curled up snuggling with our little sins we like to carry around. Sleeping with our disobedience. What a dangerous place to be!
Examine your heart today.
Is there any area of your life you have taken back from God? Have you walked away from Him? Are you trying to live this life the way you want to, only giving God a few moments of your week when it’s convenient? We can all be more diligent in our walk with the Lord. Praying for you all as we strive to be better Christians together. ❤
