Our Ninth Companion: Jonah
. . . who ran in the opposite direction.
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
(Jonah 1:3)
Abraham, Caleb, Elisha - men given difficult roads to ravel, who strapped on their sandals and set forth in faith. They make inspiring companions.
But I feel more comfortable with Jonah. Jonah took one look at the journey God was sending him on - and ran the other way. Told to travel northeast from his home in Galilee to the city of Nineveh on the Tigris River, he headed instead southwest - to Joppa on the Mediterranean. Once there, taking no chances, he found a ship headed as far from Nineveh as possible: to Spain - the absolute limits of the known world.
Jonah went aboard, climbed into his bunk, and doubtless pulled the covers over his head. It was probably the loudest 'No way!" ever uttered to a command of God, and it shows me a lot about myself. Jonah was to discover, as I do each time, the truth of the psalmist's words:
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
(Psalms 139: 9,10)
How does God lead us, even in the midst of our disobedience? Jonah discovered four ways.
1. Storms
Uproar and confusion in our environment are often the external signs that we're headed the wrong direction. The truth which Jonah's story dramatizes is that everyone around us, even the innocent and uninvolved, is caught up in the turmoil brought about by our rebellion. An employee who fails to do his job, a volunteer who takes on a task intended for someone else make it impossible for others to fulfill their guidance. Jonah's "no" cost the ship's crew their cargo and very nearly their lives.
2. Man overboard
Jonah's flight from God brought him where it brings us all: over our heads in deep water. Each of us has his own method of avoiding God's claim on our lives, whether it's the 14-hour day of the workaholic, or the TV addiction of the escapist.
But sooner or later such dodges fail. The very ship we counted on to carry us to safety casts us out. Our health breaks down, reality closes in. Whatever the particular crisis, we find ourselves sinking beneath the waves. The dunking is for our benefit. God wants us out of the boat so that we can enter into relationship with Him. As the water closed over Jonah's head then "I remembered the Lord" (Jonah 2:7). The fish
Jonah, humanly speaking, was done for. But human resources are not the last word. When we come to the end of ours, God's are only beginning.
Who could have imagined, in Jonah's adversity, an enormous fish arriving and swallowing him up - a fish with a belly large enough for a man to live in! Who can imagine the means He will use in your predicament? All we can be sure of about His provision is that it will surprise us.
3. Landfall
Traveling the long way around, Jonah ends up back where he started. But of course it isn't really the same place. The shore where the great fish deposited Jonah was a lot farther from Nineveh than his original starting point in Galilee. His disobedience means that he has a longer road to go. As he trudges ruefully along, he must reflect that had he followed directions in the first place he would have been there by now.
But Jonah didn't obey right away, and neither, much of the time, do we. We are all of us to some degree off His perfect course for our lives. The great news of Jonah is that we can never stray so far that God cannot bring us back.
Thank You, LORD, that when I run from Your purpose, You have already prepared the way to return.
Meet our next companion now >
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
(Jonah 1:3)
Abraham, Caleb, Elisha - men given difficult roads to ravel, who strapped on their sandals and set forth in faith. They make inspiring companions.
But I feel more comfortable with Jonah. Jonah took one look at the journey God was sending him on - and ran the other way. Told to travel northeast from his home in Galilee to the city of Nineveh on the Tigris River, he headed instead southwest - to Joppa on the Mediterranean. Once there, taking no chances, he found a ship headed as far from Nineveh as possible: to Spain - the absolute limits of the known world.
Jonah went aboard, climbed into his bunk, and doubtless pulled the covers over his head. It was probably the loudest 'No way!" ever uttered to a command of God, and it shows me a lot about myself. Jonah was to discover, as I do each time, the truth of the psalmist's words:
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
(Psalms 139: 9,10)
How does God lead us, even in the midst of our disobedience? Jonah discovered four ways.
1. Storms
Uproar and confusion in our environment are often the external signs that we're headed the wrong direction. The truth which Jonah's story dramatizes is that everyone around us, even the innocent and uninvolved, is caught up in the turmoil brought about by our rebellion. An employee who fails to do his job, a volunteer who takes on a task intended for someone else make it impossible for others to fulfill their guidance. Jonah's "no" cost the ship's crew their cargo and very nearly their lives.
2. Man overboard
Jonah's flight from God brought him where it brings us all: over our heads in deep water. Each of us has his own method of avoiding God's claim on our lives, whether it's the 14-hour day of the workaholic, or the TV addiction of the escapist.
But sooner or later such dodges fail. The very ship we counted on to carry us to safety casts us out. Our health breaks down, reality closes in. Whatever the particular crisis, we find ourselves sinking beneath the waves. The dunking is for our benefit. God wants us out of the boat so that we can enter into relationship with Him. As the water closed over Jonah's head then "I remembered the Lord" (Jonah 2:7). The fish
Jonah, humanly speaking, was done for. But human resources are not the last word. When we come to the end of ours, God's are only beginning.
Who could have imagined, in Jonah's adversity, an enormous fish arriving and swallowing him up - a fish with a belly large enough for a man to live in! Who can imagine the means He will use in your predicament? All we can be sure of about His provision is that it will surprise us.
3. Landfall
Traveling the long way around, Jonah ends up back where he started. But of course it isn't really the same place. The shore where the great fish deposited Jonah was a lot farther from Nineveh than his original starting point in Galilee. His disobedience means that he has a longer road to go. As he trudges ruefully along, he must reflect that had he followed directions in the first place he would have been there by now.
But Jonah didn't obey right away, and neither, much of the time, do we. We are all of us to some degree off His perfect course for our lives. The great news of Jonah is that we can never stray so far that God cannot bring us back.
Thank You, LORD, that when I run from Your purpose, You have already prepared the way to return.
Meet our next companion now >