Fish Stories: Jonah’s Rebellion – Wednesday
Jonah 1:3
“But Jonah ran away from the LORD. He headed for Tarshish. So he went down to the port of Joppa. There he found a ship that was going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board. Then he sailed for Tarshish. He was running away from the LORD.” (NIRV)
There is an old saying that “There is no point climbing the ladder of success if it is leaning against the wrong wall.” How true that is! I think our friend Jonah may have had his prehistoric headphones on when this saying first came about. He was for sure doing the wrong thing when he ran from God. But he did it in all the right ways! He may have even patted himself on the back for how brave he was being.
I have no doubt that Jonah was brave. He boarded a ship with people he didn’t know and was dead-set to travel to a distant land he had never been to. Jonah may have felt self-denying at that moment. After all, he paid a lot of money to board that ship and was giving up his comfortable life at home. The issue comes in when we see that he is going about his journey in the right way, but he’s going in the wrong direction!
We can often get caught up in these impulses like Jonah. We may think we are accomplishing God’s will and even profess that we “felt it was the right thing to do.” But without checking that these impulses truly come from God, it can be easy to make up divine providence whenever we want to, just to suit our own agenda.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Take some time today out of your schedule to pray— and not only talk to God—but also to listen. Listen to what he might be calling you to, and ask for confirmation of the callings you have already received. Let His voice flow through you and guide your steps.