Jonah Moments

We all know the story of Jonah and the Whale. God commanded Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach against their wickedness. Instead, Jonah ran from God, ended up on a ship, then tossed overboard by a bunch of frightened sailors, to end up in the belly of a whale for three days and nights.

We don't know much about Jonah and what kind of man he was before this happened, but we can conclude one thing, he was frightened to do what God had commanded him to do, he was frightened more of the people of Ninevah than God. So much so that he disobeyed God and ran away from Him. The Bible uses the word, flee, in fact, a much stronger word than ran, a word that conveys a sense of panic and hurry.

Jonah tried to run away from God and his command as fast and furious as he could.

The only problem was, he really couldn't get away from God. No matter how fast Jonah ran, no matter where he went, God could find him.

Jonah was foolish, maybe, and definately a coward.

But don't we all have Jonah moments?

Even days when we are foolish and cowardly?

God can and does at times show us exactly where He wants us to be, what He wants us to do, and we will come up with a million different excuses not to do it. Or we ignore what is right in front of us, opportunities and open doors.

We try and run away from God just as Jonah did.

Sometimes God gives us opportunities that don't seem to fit us, so we discount them right away. A shy person having the opportunity to stand in front of others and speak, for example.

We think, "Surely, not I, Lord!"

But God's purposes are greater than ours, and He wants us to stretch and grow beyond our own self limited boundaries.

A number of years ago, in my previous church home, the pastor approached me about joining the outreach committee.

I didn't even think about it, I certainly didn't take time to pray about it.

Taken aback, I said a resounding NO.

No way, not me, uh uh, as visions of approaching people I didn't know filled my head.

Definately one of those Jonah moments in my life.

A couple posts ago, I wrote about how so many have told me to join the choir.

Another Jonah moment, but this time, I am thinking and praying about it.

God wants me to stretch and grow, He wants me to overcome my fears and shyness, and He wants me to serve Him by serving others.

Something that I have been praying about for a long time, where exactly I fit in the church. I have been asking God to lead me.

The thing is, it's been so easy to ignore what was right in front of me.

But too many people have said something to me, it's getting harder to ignore.

When one person says something, it's easy to discount it, it's hearsay, when many people say something, it's testimony and not so easy to ignore.

So I have decided that if I can work my schedule out with work, so I can attend practice, then it is definately where God wants me to be.

It's not exactly what I envisioned for myself, but God knows best where I need to be.