Prophet
Jonah and I
Selected
Portions from Jonah 1-4
There
are two themes run through the Book of Jonah – the man and the message
·
The man is Jonah, that is, God’s
plans for Jonah and God’s dealings with him.
·
The message is God’s sovereign plan
for the salvation of a gentile city—God desires all to be saved, that means,
all to come to the saving knowledge of Christ and experience Him as their
personal Lord and Savior.
Jonah
is a symbol of the inner struggle that is going through every Christian. In
other words, every Christian should identify a Jonah in his or her life. We all
go through real inner struggles as the way Jonah went through.
What
were Jonah’s inner struggles?
·
Jonah ran away from God (chap 1) and
ran ahead of God (chap 4). He struggled between Nineveh and Tarshish. They were
apart around 2500 miles; one in the East and other in the West.
o
Although he was a prophet of the God
of Israel, he had his own aspirations and dreams that were going quite contrary
to the Lord’s plans.
o
He was unwilling to accept God’s
plan of saving a gentile city like Nineveh.
o
He had a different understanding of
God’s graciousness, thinking that it would be restricted only for certain
people.
·
God wanted Jonah to run toward God
(chap 2) and run with God (chap 3).
This
is truly the Christian struggle the Apostle Paul talks in Romans 7. The victory
over this struggle is only the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 7:24-25).
In
the light of Jonah’s life, how do we handle our inner, spiritual, struggle?
1. Understand and Accept that God’s
Plans for our Lives May Be Different from ours, But they are Definite (1:2;
3:1-2)
Jonah
had to learn this lesson through a very hard way. Jonah had to be thrown to the
Mediterranean Sea; and then a miracle fish to be provided by God to redeem him,
and his subsequent repentance and restoration.
But,
in the process, God never changed His plan and will for Him (3:1-2).
We
can never change the will of God for our lives. God’s wills are sovereign for
us, which He had already planned in the eternity past. We need to rather
understand and accept those supreme will of God. This is because our God is
immutable.
·
Our prayers are never to change the
will of God, rather, they are our humble petitions—petitions of a struggling or
an aching heart, which He hears and provides us His wisdom and strength to
handle the situations in life.
·
So always our prayers should end
with this: “let thy will be done.”
o
This is the reason the Garden of
Gethsemane stands out as one of the beautiful chapters in the life of our
Savior.
o
Same thing we see with Paul on the
Road to Damascus when the Lord met him.
2. Align with God’s Plan, Running
Contrary to it would be Disastrous (1:3, 15)
God
wanted Jonah to leave his comfort zone and to follow the Lord’s plan.
·
Keep our aspirations and dreams at
the altar of God.
·
We need to be where God wants us to
be, rather than where we want to be.
·
Make ourselves available to God.
3. Not to be Frustrated at the Will of
God, But Fathom the Sovereign God (4:1-4)
Jonah
tried to run ahead of God when he saw the sinful Ninevites were converted,
expressing his displeasure to God. He was very angry, and God had to really
confront him again.
4. In our Frustrations, God Never Deserts
us, but Restores us with His Restoring Love (4:6)
When
Jonah ran away from God, God sent a miracle fish to redeem him (chap 1), and a
miracle plant (chap 4) to restore him.
These
were nothing but God’s forbearance and longsuffering for us.
·
Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the
riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Lamentation 3:22-25, 31-32).
Only
in Jesus Christ we have true restoration as Jonah learned that salvation
belongs to God (Jonah 2:9; Romans 7:24-25).
·
Only in Jesus Christ we have the
blessedness of salvation and contentment evermore.
·
Jesus was the one who became
obedient to the Father even to the Cross.
·
In Jesus Christ, we have one Greater
than Jonah!
·
So we Rest in Him, Relax in Him,
Rejoice in Him, and Remain in Him.
Conclusion/Applications
From
the Book of Jonah, we learn these four lessons:
·
Pray with God
·
Purpose with God
·
Plan with God
·
Practice with God
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