The Reluctant Prophet

Jonah 1: 1-3

“1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

Jonah was a reluctant prophet.  God asked him to go to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and tell them to either repent or be punished by the Lord.  Jonah hated the Assyrians and wanted God to strike them down.  He did not want them to repent.  So he fled from God as far away as he could possibly flee.

When he arrived in Tarshish he discovered God was there.  When he fled again and was swallowed by a giant fish, he discovered that God heard his prayer in the fish’s belly.  

Jonah went to Nineveh and he told them to repent.  To his surprise, they repented; everyone repented.  Even the animals.  And God spared them. God knew that Jonah was the perfect person to travel to Nineveh.  He knew he would succeed in spite of his hate of the Assyrians.  

God knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knows all the secrets of our hearts, but uses us for His purposes anyway.  And he hears our prayers, even in the belly of a giant fish.

May the love of Christ be with you

Rev. Eric Lanier

#Jonah. #Tarshish. #Nineveh. #God uses us