Swallowed by a Whale

Most people will teach Jonah as a bad guy who disobeyed God's command to take a message to people. Well if he is "bad" then what does that make us? I digress, I am not talking about those aspects of Jonah that we may already be familiar with.

I think we have all, one time or another, been able to relate to Jonah. We get fearful to tell our coworker the message God has given us for them. That is just an individual and we let the whale of fear swallow us and keep us captive. Just imagine...Tarshish was a city comparable to New York. God tells you "I want you to go to New York City, a place where there are many gods, they have no standards/morals, and tell them to turn from their ways to be restored to God, or else..."

Our first reaction would be to act like we didn't hear anything or wait for 5 different confirmations to make sure it was God. We'd be very hesitant to obey. We'd consider the reaction of the people just like Jonah. Not saying it is right,but we are modern day Jonahs. Jonah's story gives us a lot more insight. There is a lot of good things to be learned from Jonah.

                                              Positive Lessons From Jonah

• Most other bible stories describe the main person  as being upright before the Lord, or gives some sort of qualification of faith. For Jonah we don't see where he would have been "qualified" for this job. There was no description other than he was the son of Amittai.

• Jonah's instructions were vague. (Jonah 1:2) You may not get the full picture of what you need to say or do. The instructions from the Holy Spirit may seem vague or to you unimportant. Act on the simple things God has instructed,  the results will amaze you every time. He knows what He is asking you to do :) The whole city turned back to God from Jonah's simple instructions.

• God didn't leave him just because Jonah feared delivering the message. God stayed with him, and worked with him till Jonah delivered the message. God will work with you when you make yourself available to Him. I would assume that this was Jonah's first time, evangelizing and prophesying all in one. God works with us to develop the gifts in us. What good would it be if he left us as soon as we were apprehensive? His message would never get around.

• The Message is greater than the messenger. Focus on the message, not yourself. You are carrying a priceless, beyond valuable, message. When God gives you a message to tell someone, it is no longer about you. The Message/The WORD needs to be esteemed higher than yourself. You can be unqualified carrying a vital message. Your decision to give the message is a life or death situation. The Message always brings life.