Gtcotr/ws051922
Jonah 1 NKJV
1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD
came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that
great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before
Me.”
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2 NKJV
1 ¶ Then Jonah prayed to the
LORD his God from the fish’s belly.
2 And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.
7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.
Jonah 3 NKJV
1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD
came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”
5 ¶ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Jonah 4 NKJV
1 ¶ But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
There are a few things we learn from the account of Jonah. And remember, Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as an actual account.
1. It’s always a shorter walk to go God’s way.
We will never catch God unprepared.
2. The pain we endure going God’s way is less than the pain we encounter going our way.
We cannot simply calculate what it will cost us to obey God, but we must also factor in what it will cost Him and others if we do not.
God is the God of second chances.
You may not be the first person God asked to do what He has asked you to do. Hopefully, you will be the last.
3. What God wants you to do is not just what’s best for God, it’s also what’s best for you.
It never pays to be angry with God.
Jonah 4:11 “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?”
God will always have the last word.
And
if the truth be told … God evidently takes notice of, cares about, and
has pity on animals. So, consider how you treat all of God’s creatures.
