It was nothing short of rebellion and defiance that led a passenger aboard a ship. God had spoken but Jonah rebelled. He thought he could run from the presence of the Lord. There are many people who think the same thing today. Honestly, where on the face of this earth can you run and hide from the presence of God? “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night.’ Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. [Ps 139:7-12]
We cannot run from God. Our rebellion will bring negative consequences especially if we are children of God. We will experience His chastisement. [Heb 12:4-11] His discipline is the very proof that He loves us and wants what is best for our lives. That chastisement may not feel like love. God sent a great wind and storm to get Jonah’s attention which nearly broke up the whole ship. God wants and demands our obedience and when we choose to rebel we will find the Lord taking us to the woodshed so to speak.
Jonah was down in the hull of the ship sleeping while others were panicked. His heart was hard and he was oblivious to the fact that God was seeking to get his attention. The same thing happens today. God uses scriptures, people, and circumstances to chastise His children who are defiant and resistant to His will. Many people stiffen their neck and continue to endure the discipline of the Lord rather than submit to surrender to His will. They never seem to connect the negative consequences afflicting them with their own rebellion against God.
We are fooling ourselves if we think that our rebellion does not affect other people. Jonah’s rebellion on the high seas impacted every other person on that ship. When we choose to disregard the will of the Lord and revolt against His wishes our choices impact others in our family, people we go to church with, as well as people in the community. God takes obedience very seriously.
How many people have been negatively impacted by the sin of others? All of us are feeling the impact of Adam and Eve’s choice to rebel. Families are torn apart because of people’s rebellion. I received an email from a girl who attended camp last week at Panama City where I was preaching. She relayed the heart wrenching details of family problems. One person’s choices are impacting the rest of the family in a bad way. One of the young men who was saved at camp last week told me about his physical abuse by a rebellious father. He no longer has much contact with the father but the pain lingers and the emotional wounds have not healed though the physical wounds have.
Wake up. When we choose not to obey God we are inviting harsh times in our lives. There are no excuses for our rebellion. We can’t talk our way out of it like we did making excuses for late or missed homework assignments or getting out of a speeding traffic violation. God demands our compliance and if we choose to rebel we will be dealt with.
In the first chapter of Jonah something amazing occurs. The sailors and captain of the ship urge Jonah to call on his God to save them. When the sailors drew lots to see on whose account the storm was the lot fell to Jonah. You would think at that point that he would bow in repentance and ask the Lord forgiveness along with willingly submitting to obey. No. Instead Jonah wants to be thrown overboard into the storm, which most likely would have killed him rather than obey. How could he have been so hard hearted? All you have to do is to look deep into our own hearts for on occasions we have all been like Jonah.
We may not have rebelled on things like going to some foreign country to preach God’s truth but we defy God in other small ways. Even when convicted and chastised we can be hard hearted and continue to defy God.
I love the way the first chapter ends. Jonah is thrown overboard and the storm ceases. I figure Jonah was prepared to die except for the grace and mercy of the Lord. God appoints a great fish which swallows Jonah whole. Jonah preferred death to obedience but God had other plans in mind. His grace is greater than our sin. [Rom 5:20]
I hope all of us can learn a lesson from Jonah’s rebellion on the high on seas. It is in our best interest and in the best interest of those we love to submit to God’s will and to obey. Like the old song says, “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
We cannot run from God. Our rebellion will bring negative consequences especially if we are children of God. We will experience His chastisement. [Heb 12:4-11] His discipline is the very proof that He loves us and wants what is best for our lives. That chastisement may not feel like love. God sent a great wind and storm to get Jonah’s attention which nearly broke up the whole ship. God wants and demands our obedience and when we choose to rebel we will find the Lord taking us to the woodshed so to speak.
Jonah was down in the hull of the ship sleeping while others were panicked. His heart was hard and he was oblivious to the fact that God was seeking to get his attention. The same thing happens today. God uses scriptures, people, and circumstances to chastise His children who are defiant and resistant to His will. Many people stiffen their neck and continue to endure the discipline of the Lord rather than submit to surrender to His will. They never seem to connect the negative consequences afflicting them with their own rebellion against God.
We are fooling ourselves if we think that our rebellion does not affect other people. Jonah’s rebellion on the high seas impacted every other person on that ship. When we choose to disregard the will of the Lord and revolt against His wishes our choices impact others in our family, people we go to church with, as well as people in the community. God takes obedience very seriously.
How many people have been negatively impacted by the sin of others? All of us are feeling the impact of Adam and Eve’s choice to rebel. Families are torn apart because of people’s rebellion. I received an email from a girl who attended camp last week at Panama City where I was preaching. She relayed the heart wrenching details of family problems. One person’s choices are impacting the rest of the family in a bad way. One of the young men who was saved at camp last week told me about his physical abuse by a rebellious father. He no longer has much contact with the father but the pain lingers and the emotional wounds have not healed though the physical wounds have.
Wake up. When we choose not to obey God we are inviting harsh times in our lives. There are no excuses for our rebellion. We can’t talk our way out of it like we did making excuses for late or missed homework assignments or getting out of a speeding traffic violation. God demands our compliance and if we choose to rebel we will be dealt with.
In the first chapter of Jonah something amazing occurs. The sailors and captain of the ship urge Jonah to call on his God to save them. When the sailors drew lots to see on whose account the storm was the lot fell to Jonah. You would think at that point that he would bow in repentance and ask the Lord forgiveness along with willingly submitting to obey. No. Instead Jonah wants to be thrown overboard into the storm, which most likely would have killed him rather than obey. How could he have been so hard hearted? All you have to do is to look deep into our own hearts for on occasions we have all been like Jonah.
We may not have rebelled on things like going to some foreign country to preach God’s truth but we defy God in other small ways. Even when convicted and chastised we can be hard hearted and continue to defy God.
I love the way the first chapter ends. Jonah is thrown overboard and the storm ceases. I figure Jonah was prepared to die except for the grace and mercy of the Lord. God appoints a great fish which swallows Jonah whole. Jonah preferred death to obedience but God had other plans in mind. His grace is greater than our sin. [Rom 5:20]
I hope all of us can learn a lesson from Jonah’s rebellion on the high on seas. It is in our best interest and in the best interest of those we love to submit to God’s will and to obey. Like the old song says, “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
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