JONAH: THE CURSE OF DISOBEDIENCE

More than likely, anyone who grew up in the church is familiar with the story of “Jonah and the Whale.” It is a Sunday School Bible story that is told to children often. It creates an awe of the fact that Jonah was swallowed and lived in the belly of the fish for three days. It also causes us to be amazed at God’s power and shows us what He can/will do to make sure that His plan is carried out. However, the fact that all of these events took place because Jonah was disobedient seems to get overlooked, or skipped over all together, in those children’s Sunday School classes.

Jonah 1:1-2 (CSB) states, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.”” Jonah clearly had a relationship with God and God even spoke directly to Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of God who had been given a calling to reveal God’s word to Nineveh. However, the next verse clearly shows that Jonah was disobedient to God’s command. Verse 3 states, “Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.” Not only did Jonah disobey God’s calling, but he tried to flee the presence of God.

We all have a calling from God on our lives. Whether or not you follow God’s calling is up to you. However, we might want to look at the story of Jonah to see what happens when we disobey God’s calling and strive to leave the presence of God. When Jonah ran away from God’s calling, God brought a storm, the crew of the boat that Jonah was on turned on Jonah and threw him overboard, and finally God called a whale to swallow Jonah.

The reality is that running from God’s calling on your life, can make life difficult. That is not to say that we won’t face persecution for the faith that we live out, but that we will not find the hope and joy that God provides even in the midst of those difficult times. The reason life becomes difficult is because running from God’s calling on your life is sinful, and sinfulness leads to destruction. However, when we follow God’s calling, we are walking with Him and being led by the Holy Spirit. Following God’s calling also requires faith, and obedient faith brings God glory.

Reflective Questions:

1.     Why do you think Jonah disobeyed God’s calling on his life?

2.     What calling has God placed on your life?

3.     Are you following God’s calling on your life? Why or why not?

4.     When was a time that you were obedient to God, even when it wasn’t easy? What were the results from that act of obedience?