“[1] Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” [3] 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.” — Jonah 1:1-3 NKJV
Because God is our Creator and Maker, He knows our purpose. In fact, He knows this so well and to its detail that He never misses giving divine instructions related to purpose fulfilment, as small as they may look. But in several cases, people choose to abandon the Word and direction of God to seek supposedly “better” lives for themselves, only to end up more unsatisfied than before, even if much wealth is acquired.
Jonah was a prophet of God. So he had been preaching to people. One time, the word of the Lord came to him to arise, go to Nineveh and preach against their sins and evil deeds. Jonah initially chose not to honour this instruction from the Lord. He went down to Joppa and paid the ship fare to flee to Tarshish. He thought he could escape God by leaving for another city, forgetting that God is omnipresent.
Now Jonah didn’t have a problem discerning that the instruction he received was from God and not his heart or mind. So it was clear he knew what he had to do, unlike these days where some Christians doubt godly instructions.
When Jonah paid the ship fare to Tarshish, he displayed a poor way of using money. He actually spent money to disobey God. And guess what? He even ran into more trouble than before.
Eventually, Jonah had to give up his efforts to escape God by telling the mariners to throw him into the sea, thinking he might die and end this trauma. But the Bible says, “…the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah…” (Jonah 1:17.) The fish didn’t come just from anywhere, but God purposely provided it to preserve Jonah’s life. Do you know what that means? Even if humans choose to disobey God, He’s too merciful to destroy them. He will preferably put up efforts to correct them.
What trouble have you gotten into because you mishandled your money to disobey God? You should thank Him that you’re still alive today because that means He hasn’t given up on you.
If you’re not born again, accept Jesus’s message of salvation today. However, if you’re born again and, because of harmful influence or evil company, have backslidden or disobeyed God, I want to encourage you to come back to Jesus today. Overcome those condemning thoughts that make you feel unworthy to be accepted by God. You’re loved. Just as Jonah received correction from the Lord, God will also correct you.
Moreover, I also want to tell you that purpose doesn’t change. God’s purpose for your life will never change, no matter how much effort you make to run from it. Jonah still went to preach after God corrected him. Time won’t wait for you. So come to Jesus, and start living purposefully today.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, make my heart so consumed with reverence for You that I’ll choose to obey you every time, even if I don’t have a complete spiritual understanding of your instructions. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD // 2022 – 200
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