Todays Devotion (Jonah 1-4)... And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matt. 21:22). God does not expect us to understand or agree with everything that He asks us to do, but He does expect us to trust Him, and follow Him anyway. NOW the Word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 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 (Jon. 1:1-3). The Lord directed Jonah to go to Nineveh to cry (prophesy) against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me. However, Jonah believed that Nineveh was a threat to Israel and deserved destruction. He knew God had called him to warn them to repent, but Jonah did not want them to repent. He believed that it would be in the best interest of his people if Nineveh ceased to exist. So, like many today, he made the mistake of attempting to avoid the command of God. Jonah was unwilling to be a foreign missionary to Nineveh, the capital city of the powerful, fierce Assyrian Empire. So, when the Lord spoke, he sprang into action. He found a ship going to Tarshish (the most remote of the Phoenician trading places), paid the fare, and left town going in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Apparently, this man of God had misinterpreted the strength of the Lords command, believing it instead to be a simple request. Although Jonah felt that he was leaving his troubles behind, in reality he was only compounding them. He had forgotten that the will of God could not be thwarted by the actions of man. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul (to put an end to by formal action) it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back (Is. 14:27)? At least in the beginning, circumstances seemed to favor Jonahs plan and gave him an opportunity to escape. Soon however, the situation changed, and Jonah experienced the consequences of ignoring the will of God. He quickly discovered that the Lords will WOULD be done, regardless of his own opinion. His only choice was to serve God, or to die. 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 (Jon. 1:4). Like Jonah, we are often more diligent in working toward our ruin than in seeking our salvation. Jonah sought out the ship and paid the fare, just as many today who spend their time and money on selfish projects and disregard the Lords church and the Lords work. However, just as Jonah soon discovered the meaninglessness of his actions, so too we will find that these pursuits will leave us empty and unfulfilled. Unless we are actively following the will of God, then our souls are in as much imminent danger as was the boat in the storm. If you seem to have a tendency to shirk responsibilities that seem unpleasant, as Jonah did, you may want to take this time to reacquaint yourself with the will of God. He does not expect us to understand or agree with everything that He asks us to do, but He does expect us to trust Him, and follow Him anyway. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin (keeps on cleansing us from all sin) (1 John 1:6-7). Excerpts from SBC / BiblePathway / Delaney Baptist Church
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:56:20 +0000
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