Graduating With Honors

Jonah 2:10

Probably the only school I will ever graduate from with honors is the school of hard knocks. I can be a slow learner some times. I have taken several advanced courses from that school. Economics has not been fun. How not to treat your wife is another. Then of course there was the

"responding to bosses" class. Yeah, I have had to learn hard lessons in my life, but none that quite had a graduation ceremony like Jonah. I'm not going to be graphic with this story, but it's not Jonah's cap that got tossed in the air, it was Jonah himself.

I will let you read about it in our text.

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So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah 2:10

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If the school was "Hard Knocks", then Jonah's instructor was the great fish. Once Jonah had put in his time and learned his lesson, the fish promoted Jonah in a rather disturbing way. We must remember that this was not a prison sentence that Jonah was serving out. This was very much a class in obedience to God, and the test was whether Jonah would surrender his life to God in obedience. Once Jonah did so, he passed the class and could move on.

One of the problems we have a Christians is that we often think of stories like Jonah and the Whale or Daniel and the Lion's Den as children's stories. Then, when we find ourselves in hot water, we are at a loss for what to do. While these stories are good to teach children, their truths are for adults. The principles we learn through them are to fortify our lives against the trials and troubles that come our way. If we learn these truths, when trials come we will not experience a "crisis of faith".

What can we learn from this part of Jonah's story? Jonah, a faithful prophet living for God, was instructed by God to do something he was unwilling to do. So, he rebelled against God. He said no and ran away. Rebellion against God always comes with consequences. In the midst of those consequences, Jonah turned back to God. He didn't try to run farther from God, but turned to Him. Don't misunderstand. Even at the bottom of the ocean, there was still further Jonah could have ran. He could have continued to refuse to go to Nineveh to the point of dying in the fish's belly. That is no different than what people who refuse to receive Jesus as their Savior do. They refuse to surrender to God, even if it costs them everything. Surrendering our lives to God, in both salvation and obedience, saves us all kinds of heartache and suffering.

Jonah made the right decision. We don't have to worry about the "what ifs". When we find ourselves in a bad situation of our own doing, we should follow the example of Jonah. We should turn to God. Then, when we come out on the other side, we do what we should have done in the first place. We may have some bumps and bruises, but we learned our lesson. God, thank You for being the great Teacher. We do not always do what You would have us to do, and the lessons can be painful, but You always do what's best for our learning. You are teaching us to be more like Your Son. For that we are grateful.