yo ... Jonah!

We all know the story of Jonah. He was a prophet of God, called to preach to the wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah had no slightest love or interest in Nineveh so he refused the calling. He thought if he could run far away to Tarshish, (like the radio signals that gets weaker with distance?) maybe God's calling would kinda fade away and God would call someone else and leave him alone. Well ... he thought wrong. First God sent the storm and Jonah ended treading waters in the middle of the Mediterranean Oceans. If there's no help, he's a goner. And help did come ... but not in the way Jonah expected. God sent a big fish! He got swallowed whole. Spent 3 nights in the belly of the big fish. There he repented. God then caused the fish to spit Jonah out on the shore. Jonah recovered from the ordeal and went preaching in Nineveh. Whole city repented. Everyone was happy, including God, except Jonah!

Here are my thoughts today. When Jonah was in the ship sailing to Tarshish, he was just like any other ordinary looking guy. No one knew him. No one knew he was a prophet on the run. He didn't stand out in any way. He was just another passenger on board the ship. BUT ... God had His eyes on him like satellites in the skies. There's no way Jonah could hide from God. At the right time, God sent both the storm and THE fish to turn this prophet around.

When you walk into a church today, you see people; ordinary looking people. They come, they worship. They sit through the entire service then they go back to their usual routine rest of the week. While we see them as just another church goer, no different from the other, God sees the Jonahs! He sees those who are running away from Him, those who, instead of obeying God and following His will, is in fact “sailing to Tarshish” hoping that maybe God too would not "see" them. These Jonahs in churches today ... they know their lives aren't right before God. They know the relationships they are in are not right but like Johan, they are on a cruise to Tarshish, running and hoping that maybe God will “forget” about them.

Are you on a ship to Tarshih? Are you running from God? In churches there are those who love God, who believe in Jesus and would serve no other God, YET they could not and would not let go of the relationship that they know is not right in the eyes of God. Could be a lady who’s been a Christian for decades yet having a relationship with a married man for years that’s still ongoing. Or a family man who’s a leader in church yet having a secret intimate relationship with a church member. They know it is not right but they are not prepared to do the right thing. No one knew about them, about their relationships. In church, they are just like “one of the passengers”. But God sees the Jonahs.

Like Jonah, IF you are that person and IF you think that God will not make you out because you are just like another “passenger” on the ship to Tarshish, I got good news and bad news for you. The good news is … there’s a storm coming. The bad news is … watch out for that fish! Either way, God has His way of turning us around. If we turn around, fine. If we don’t, hmmm … what comes after the fish?

Greater Him …Lesser us!