Christian Living

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Sometimes It Takes A Whale
It seems to be missed that the freedom of living within the circle of obedience requires our constant "Yes, Lord." We exist in a society that sports the heavy-lidded eyes of those who are content and lazy in the hot sun of their sin. We stop up our ears with the thick cotton of stubborn, I-know-it-all disobedience. We tread barefooted on the stony, thorn-infested path of unrighteousness. We do anything, it seems, to avoid being removed from our own self-constructed thrones. But God, our Creator and Father, often speaks deeply into our hearts. He points the way gently while we steer and veer abruptly to a well-worn and wider path. He speaks louder with the voice of authority and, again, we neglect to heed His warnings, drawing closer to our own destruction. It would be easy to enumerate our excuses for disobedience. God is just not impressed,with them.

"The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish" (Jonah 1:1-3).

Ah, yes. Running--running as if God cannot look down from on high and see us physically. This little jaunt that Jonah took clearly mirrors the ones we take in our hearts. Jonah chose what he thought was the easiest route away from obedience. The ready way, however, is not always the right way. We too, find quick-answer ways to avoid God's commands: by not reading the Word, therefore not knowing Him or His Law, by not listening to Him if and when we pray, or outright disobedience. Jonah ran directly into disaster, thinking he could get away from God's commands. Do we watch where our feet direct us?

"Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:4).

God sent a pursuer (the storm), after Jonah. The storm was frightening, almost tragic but conclusive in identifying what needed to be done. It directed the sailors, like a bolt of bright lightning, to the sinner. I have personally experienced this type of lightning bolt clarity a few times. God will often reach out His great hand to stop us....one way or another. In my sometimes self-directed turns up the winding mountain toward my Father, I have encountered unexpected touchstones of wisdom in unique-to-me forms.They might have been painful and even humiliating but served to redirect my feet to the correct path. Jonah's story shows us the clear contrast between the goodness and utter undeserved mercy of God and the rebellion of His children. God's desire is for His children to obey.

"But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17).

Leave it to God to design such a uniquely crafted sanctuary for Jonah! While in that belly, Jonah prayed. He turned to God with confidence that God heard and would respond to his pleas. Listen to some of his words;

"In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the depths of my grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry...I said, 'I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.'...When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose to You, to Your holy temple..." (Jonah 2:2, 2:4, 2:7).

God did respond, as He always will, in a manner that brings about insight and repentance. Imagine sloshing around in the acidic stomach juices of a whale, thinking your life is over, immediately recognizing your sin and the hand of God in your present circumstances.When we live in disobedience, when the hand of God is evident in our punishment (and He does indeed bring those things about even today), we continue to have hope. He is simply waiting for us to revise our thinking and turn aright. Sometimes it takes a whale, sometimes a few fishes. Jonah learned much from his affliction, will it take a whale with us?

c 04/20/2010 M. LaPointe

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