Argh... Nineveh!

Jonah 2:9-3:3 (Click on reference to read text)

We are all familiar with the story of Jonah. But did you know that the big fish did not spit Jonah up at Nineveh? Once he committed to obey God, he still had to walk a three days journey to Nineveh. This simple revelation has changed my life.

I realize that I can have a very Americanized view of obedience. We almost have a sense of entitlement that when we decide to step out in faith and obey God: it should be easy, it should be comfortable and we should receive great blessing from God because of it.

How quickly we forget Moses, who obeyed God by marching back into Egypt and cursing the family that raised him until they decided to let the Israelites go. Paul who obeyed God by preaching the Gospel to the known world, but spent more time in prison and getting beat up than actually doing sermons in the countryside! Finally, Jesus, the ultimate picture of obedience. He placed himself upon the cross and died so that we can have reconciliation with God. The cross was not comfortable and it certainly was not easy, but I am so glad that Christ obeyed.

When you make the decision to obey God, it often means that you will be stretched beyond your comfort zone, you may have to go to a place you don't want to go and talk with people you don't want to talk to. Most likely He will ask you to do something that is beyond your mental, physical or spiritual abilities, but He is not asking you to do it alone. Just like with Moses, He is the great "I AM" in your life, just like with Paul and Jesus, the Heavenly Father is right there with you. Remember what Paul proclaimed, "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10).

Are you a three days walk from your Nineveh? Put on your walking shoes and get going!