04/13/11 Daily Devotion
“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.” (Jonah 1:1–2, NIV84)
Today we begin a series of devotions on the book of Jonah. There is much to be discovered in this short little book. I pray, as we learn more about the heart of Jonah, we also learn more about our own heart. But most importantly, I pray that we learn more about the heart of God.
So, the word of the Lord came to Jonah. This is the sign of a profound calling. The word of God comes to Jonah in such a way that he knows that God wants him to speak on his behalf. This is the call of every pastor. We are compelled by God to proclaim what we hear from God to the world around us. Jonah is such a man. He has received such a call. But there is something very unique about Jonah’s call. He is one of the rare prophets called to proclaim a message in a foreign land. Indeed, he is the first global evangelist. Most prophets were called to to do their preaching within the nations of Judah and Israel. Jonah is sent by God to Ninevah. Ninevah was a powerful city within the powerful country of Assyria. They were a wicked and ruthless people. In war, they would perform some of the most heinous acts upon their captors. In normal life, they were hedonistic and cruel. It is to this group of people that Jonah is called to go and preach. And what is the message he is to convey to the great city of Ninevah? Their wickedness has gotten so bad that it has reached God and He is now going to act. Jonah was called to preach “against” the people of the city of Ninevah. He was called to speak words of impending doom and judgment coming from the hand of God.
So what if we were Jonah? What if the Lord were calling us to preach a similar message to a nation or people in our world today? Alongside God’s call would come all of our own thoughts and feelings about Gods nature, and the people we were called to speak to. We would have our theological bent, our political preferences, our moral and social inclinations all rising to the surface as we contemplate the call of God to “Go!”. So why is any of that important? We will learn very soon that Jonah runs into some real problems separating His thoughts and feelings from the objective call he received from God. In the end, Jonah is being asked to understand the heart and will of God and to be obedient to his call. Is it any different in our lives today. You don’t have to be a pastor or teacher to have the call of God on your heart. We each have been commissioned by God to be ambassadors and witnesses to the faith we have in Jesus. As we look out at the world that God is asking us to witness to, like Jonah, we too may have difficulty separating our thoughts and feelings about God and the people He has called us to witness to. It is so important in these moments that our understanding of God’s heart is clear and correct. As we will learn from the life of Jonah, a false understanding of the heart of God will destroy the message, and the messenger.
May our witness of Jesus be unblemished by our personal thoughts and feelings, and may it be a simple reflection of the heart of God.
Peace!
Tom
Tags: Devotions, firmly rooted, Tom Donnelly
April 13th, 2011 at 7:21 am
ahhh … The Sign of Jonah … it’s been a great series at Good Shepherd this Lenten season! The question was asked on the first Wednesday “What is your Tarshish?” No doubt each of us has had or currently has a place we run to INSTEAD of the place (Ninevah, in Jonah’s case) that God is calling us to! I think Tarshish could be anything that occupies our thoughts, time, and energy that does not fulfill what God is asking of us … anything from daily hours in front of the TV or computer games … to using drugs or alcohol to numb and desensitize ourselves from reality … to continuing to do what we’ve always done and are comfortable with even though it’s not working toward expanding His Kingdom.