The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of the Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Ninevah the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3 NASB
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the story of Jonah. You see, Jonah was a prophet, called by God to go to Ninevah. Jonah 1:1-2 says God told Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and preach against it because its wickedness had come up before God. But Jonah didn’t want to do this, so he ran away from the Lord and headed Tarshish, instead. He boarded a ship. We are told when this violent storm came up “all the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own God.” (Jonah 1:5). But Jonah had told them he was running from the Lord and they realized this was why this storm had come up and they were terrified. Now Jonah knew it was his fault and did the best he could do by telling them to throw him overboard. These men didn’t want to do this. But when they had tried everything else, they felt as though they had no other choice. They prayed to God to not hold this against them. This experience brought these sailors to know the one true God and verse 16 tells us that they greatly feared the Lord and offered sacrifices and made vows to Him. So even though Jonah ran from the Lord, this was used for a great purpose. This situation brought these sailors to salvation.
After Jonah was thrown overboard, he was swallowed by a huge fish, possibly a whale. Now Jonah begins to pray. He finally unblocks God’s call and opens up the lines of communication. You see God had been calling Jonah to go to Ninevah and lead these people out of their evil, wicked ways and into repentance. Jonah just didn’t want to do this, so he ran. In modern day technology, you could say that he blocked Jesus’ calls.
Today with our smart phones, we can access email, social media, calls and text all from one handy dandy little handheld device. It is almost impossible for you to not be able to get through to someone. But there is that wonderful block feature. If you have someone that you just don’t want to deal with, you can block them from calling, texting, or contacting you through social media. Well, this is kind of what Jonah did with God. He just didn’t want to do what God was calling him to do, so he decided to block the call and run away. But the problem here is that we can’t block God’s call. When God calls us to do something, we need to do it.
God never calls us to do something that He doesn’t fully equip us to do. Yesterday I had a task that I really didn’t want to do, but I felt that God was calling me to do it. I asked for prayer before I did it and I prayed as well. As I stepped out of my car to go and talk to this person, I recalled Isaiah 41:10, “So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I have learned that God’s hand is always right there holding me and I have nothing to fear. Just like a small child, whose parent holds their hand to get them safely across the street, God is there for me.
So, why do we block God’s call on our life? Well, I have used a number of excuses. One is fear, what if I can’t do it? Or, what if it causes a major disruption to my life? God usually calls us out of our comfort zone and we just don’t like that. It is called comfort zone for a reason, Hello! Another is laziness. What if it takes up too much of my time or the work is too hard? Another reason we don’t accomplish what God is calling us to do is that we get distracted. The devil has a number of distraction techniques at his disposal and you better believe he will deploy each and every one of them if you are working to further God’s kingdom.
So what’s a Christian to do? Well, we are to remember God’s promises. Remember Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Also, remember Romans 8:28, “All things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” So even if you are facing shipwreck, tossed into a raging sea and swallowed by a whale, you can trust that God is working all this out for your good.
My prayer for you today is that you never block God’s call and always stand at the ready to do His work. You see, I have learned that my peace and joy are limitless when I am doing what God has called me to do. I know that you will have the same experience when you take God’s call and do what He is calling you to do. Don’t block God’s calls, these are the calls that will enrich your life and give you eternal joy.
Have a great day!