“Jonah’s Animosity” Pt 1 of 2:
The Psalmist reminds us we can never get away from God’s Spirit or His presence (Psalm 139:7). This is good news because even in our best attempts to run or ignore the Lord, His love and faithfulness never gives up on us. Most are acquainted with the story of Jonah. When God instructed him to go to Nineveh, he instead went to Joppa and boarded a ship to Tarshish. This was a complete refusal to carry out God’s plan and ditching it for his own personal plan.
It’s easy to read the story about Jonah and how things eventually went sideways, he’s thrown off the ship, swallowed by a big fish which burped him on a beach three days later. Following that experience, Jonah decided to accept the plan God had set out for him. Going to a heathen nation, Jonah preached the Word of the Lord and one of the greatest revivals in history took place.
We can get enamored with this story, but it’s important we just don’t think about the fish ordeal. When any person chooses to walk away from God (for any reason) and the plan he has for your life, you will find many ships going in the wrong direction. I recently read this statement, “The Devil’s Travel Agency has this motto, ‘We can always make room for one more.’”
It’s easy to board a ship sailing away from God. We’re busy, involved with friends who are unbelievers, engaged in activities that satisfy our sinful and selfish desires. Some individuals can become so involved (addicted) to evil things, such as pornography that they don’t even think about God unless they’re caught.
Satan is a dangerous enemy, and we must be careful of allowing friends or things to pull us away from God. If we get on such a ship, we do so at the risk of wandering away from where God wants us to be and filling our hearts or the hearts of others with a sense of God’s presence.
Pastor Carnes
