Down, Down, Down

“You want me to go where and do what?”

“You heard Me. Go and preach repentance because of their wickedness.”

The prophet’s conversation with God may have sounded something like that because he didn’t want to warn the Ninevites of God’s wrath. Instead of heading to that great city five hundred miles away, Jonah traveled in the opposite direction, trying to go to Tarshish, two thousand miles away. Why? He feared Israel’s notorious enemy would repent and God, in His mercy, would forgive them. Fleeing God’s presence led to a series of events that sent him downward, farther and farther away from God.

Overwhelmed with despair in the fish’s belly, Jonah remembers God and turns to the Lord: “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thy holy temple” (Jonah 2:7). Jonah thought God had cast him away but remembered the Lord’s faithfulness and prayed. God heard him. The great fish that swallowed the runaway vomited him onto the shore, and he went to Nineveh. Even though Jonah wanted the city destroyed, he preached God’s message. The people, including the king, repented, and God spared them.

“You want me to do what?” Has God told you to go somewhere, but you’re reluctant to leave where you are? Has He told you to do something, but you are unwilling to bend?  Sometimes we voice our puny excuses for refusing obedience to God; other times, we silently and blatantly reject His directives. Either way, our reasonings are rebellion that may lead to events God uses to draw us back to Him. Jonah finally went to Nineveh and preached God’s message. Although his heart wasn’t right, God accomplished His purposes through the reluctant and unwilling servant. The entire city repented, and God saved thousands of souls from destruction.

God used a storm, a tossing into the sea, and a great fish swallowing Jonah to steer him in the right direction. Once in Nineveh, God used a plant, a worm, and a scorching wind to teach Jonah a lesson on compassion. Yet, he still disagreed with God’s judgment to spare the Ninevites. What is your attitude towards wicked people? Do you want their destruction or God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation for them? He wants to save all people and for them to trust Him. 

We sometimes disagree with God’s decisions, yet He never casts His children away. But how far down must we go before God gets our attention for obedience? Our efforts to skirt His plans are not worth the consequences that may follow. But praise God; when we pray, He hears and rescues us.