Jonah 1:3
But Jonah RAN AWAY from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
Canon Andrew White, also known as the Vicar of Baghdad, called Jonah the ‘reluctant evangelist’. Andrew White was for a long time based in Baghdad, Iraq and the city of Mosul in present day Iraq was the site of ancient Nineveh. The 2003 census for Iraq showed a population of around 1.5 million Christians, before ISIS came. The Christian community in Iraq was recognised as one of the oldest continuous Christian Churches on earth, so Jonah influenced generations of their people.
The story of Jonah begins with him running in the opposite direction to his calling from God. The Bible actually says he ran away from the Lord or from the Lord’s presence. Derek Prince pointed out that from the time Jonah began to run from God he continually descended, things went downhill badly. He went from the hills to the port of Joppa, to the ship and finally into the belly of the fish in the sea. God had chosen him and equipped him to preach repentance to Nineveh, 120,000 people. Unlike others chosen by God, Jonah didn’t say he couldn’t do it, he knew God was merciful and if the enemies of Israel repented he would forgive them.
I wonder how many people today have a calling on their lives. Maybe there is something niggling you and you’ve been ignoring it for a long time, but things aren’t getting any easier, perhaps getting worse. Can I urge you today to sit down and ask God why things are as they are in your life? Has God been asking something of you and you’re going full steam your own way, maybe heading for shipwreck like Jonah nearly caused. Putting off addressing the issue He’s been trying to raise with you. Jonah had to come to a place of personal surrender. God is persistent but sometimes we just don’t want to listen, whatever our reasons.
God wants to use us and bless us but the first step for us has to be going His way, allowing Him to set the course for our lives. He may ask something that we don’t want to give but ultimately it will be the best way for us and for others.
May I urge you today not to run, or to stop running, before things become more difficult. Jonah’s accusation against God was;
Jonah 4:2
I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents in sending calamity.
You can trust God, no matter what your circumstances, He’s waiting to help you today.
God bless you