My Bible study this morning was focused on Jonah. We all know his story, how God told him to head to NIneveh to warn the people there of coming judgment, but he was afraid, so he headed to Tarshish instead, only to end up in the belly of a whale.
It’s a cute story, one I’ve heard many times before, but for some reason it hit home this morning. I realized I’m no better than Jonah. How many times has God told me, “Get up and go to…Nineveh”, but instead I “got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord”?
What am I talking about? Everyday I walk the streets of Nineveh, surrounded by people who’ve lost their way, have made terrible choices, have turned from God. Everyday God says to me, “Go to them. Tell them about me. Warn them.” And what do I do? I hop the first boat to Tarshish. I head in the opposite direction, change the course of the conversation, or just don’t say a thing, letting them wander on their aimless way, lost and heading in the wrong direction. I’m no better than Jonah!
I don’t want to be a Jonah anymore. I’m not going to wait for God to send a whale to swallow me up and get me headed in the right direction. With God’s help I’m jumping ship, getting off this boat to Tarshish, and heading to where He wants me to be, which is wherever I find myself today. I’m going to ask Him to give me the courage to share Him with those I meet, to “Shout it aloud,…not hold back. Raise [my] voice like a trumpet.” (Isaiah 58:1 NIV).
I don’t have to travel far to find my Nineveh. Its streets lead through my workplace, through the place where I shop, my neighborhood, and, sometimes, through my own home. Anywhere there are people who have lost their way is my Nineveh, the place where God has called me to work.
How about you? Where is your Nineveh? Who is God calling you to warn, to tell of His soon coming, of His love and forgiveness? Will you accept the call or are you headed for Tarshish instead? If so, just be warned, you might find yourself caught in a storm – or maybe even in the belly of a whale. I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll head to Nineveh instead.