- What do you do when you have to do something you deeply dislike: Do it anyway, postpone it, or avoid it? Jonah chose the later. He ran.
He did not want to preach to the people of Nineveh. He deeply despised them and wanted to see them destroyed. However, after some "encouragement" (swallowed by a giant fish!) he spoke what God told him--and the unexpected happened: Nineveh repented and was spared.
Has God commissioned you to do something that seems impossible or that you do not want to do? Remember: God did not command Jonah to produce results; He only required him to complete a task.
It is the same for us: Results are God's responsibility. Ours is only to complete the task He gives us. (Thinking about it that way takes some of the pressure off, doesn't it?)
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city--a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:1-5,10 NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment