Complicated

Jonah 1:2-3 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle started a new Sermon series on the book of Jonah. Many grew up hearing the story of Jonah and the whale, and have pictures in their minds of this Prophet trying to run away from God’s mission and a big fish swallowed him to make the three day journey to the shore of Nineveh, then split him out. Very dramatic, but what is important to affirm from the story? First, that Jonah’s relationship status with God  was complicated. Walking with the Lord God is never so simple, but sometimes we get beaten up by life so that we lose sight of the promises of God for our life. God doesn’t chastise our losing focus but reaffirms us of the promises. God’s calling comes with questions. Faith does not equal perfection. Questioning is a part of our Christian walk because we only see dimly what God reveals to us.

Matthew 12:39-40 But He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

There is no denying that Jonah initially resists God because he did not want Him to forgive the Ninevites. But, there is no denying that the rest of Scripture considers Jonah to be a true Prophet of the Lord. God judged by what God did through him. It is easy to put people into categories of “good” or “bad” with no grey areas in between. We need to have relational patience. Finite human personal valleys, shortcomings, stumbles and falls are inevitable. We all desire to be remembered by our achievements, successes and righteousness. Jonah was an unlikely vehicle of judgement and redemption.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

It doesn’t matter if it was a big fish or a whale that swallowed and transported Jonah. The Hebrew word used is “dag”, meaning fish, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that this story was written in the inerrant Word of God. Every portion of the Bible has been accurately preserved over time for our growth. The question is; What does God want us to do in our life? At the end of the day, it comes down to faith. Faith and reason go hand-in-hand. Believe and trust God to follow through and to do what He says He is going to do. Do your research but have faith that infinite God understands more than us.

God is more interested in our obedience than satisfying our intellectual curiosity. Make the complicated easy. Every time, with belief of and obedience to God, we benefit. 

In Christ, Brian