"I fear the Lord..."

Jonah 1:4-9

When we were growing up, we used to sing a song called "Master of the Wind". Here are the lyrics to the first verse and chorus:

My boat of life

Sails on a troubled sea

Èver there's a wind in my sail

But i have a friend

Who watches over me

When the breeze turns into a gale

I know the master of the wind

I know the maker of the rain

He can calm the storm

And make the sun to shine again

I know the master of the wind.

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah 1:4-9

Did you notice that Jonah never questioned the sovereignty of God. Jonah trusted God and obeyed Him in every aspect of his life, except on the terms of going to Nineveh. That was the line in the sand that Jonah was unwilling to cross. It was the point where Jonah said, "God, I will follow you everywhere in the world EXCEPT THERE!". When it came to Nineveh, Jonah was willing to throw everything away to keep from going there.

Nineveh was about a 725-mile journey for Jonah. However, rather than go to Nineveh (Iraq), Jonah tried to go to Tarshish (Spain) which was aver 2,500 miles away. He was trying to run more than three times as far away as the direction that God was trying to send him. Isn't that true for us as well? God tells us to go one way, and to avoid what He tells us to do, we will fun way farther in the wrong direction than he tried to send us in the first place.

When Jonah got out of God's will, his life fell apart. There was literally a storm around him. Yes, the storm was from God, but Jonah would have never experienced that storm on the road to Nineveh. While Jonah had good theology, he was not a doer of the word (James 1:22). Jonah refused to submit to the authority of God, and to surrender to His will. This was an act of rebellion. This was an act of sin.

Isn't it also interesting the Jonah said, "I fear the Lord, the God of heaven...." (v. 9). Nothing about Jonah's actions says that he fears the Lord. As a matter of fact, except for the prayer in the belly of the giant fish, there is nothing about Jonah in this story that would lead someone to believer that Jonah was godly. He is rebellious, angry, and hateful. Yet, when talking to these scared sailors, he claimed to serve God. Even when we are being disobedient to God, we can still profess to serve Him. The problem is the view from Heaven reveals a very different picture of Jonah than what he tried to convey here in the text. God sees our heart.

For years I have thought that Jonah was a faithful preacher who God chose to reveal a dark spot in his heart. Much like the story of Job, God was using trials to reveal a lack of faith and surrender in Jonah's heart. Unlike Job, we do not know how Jonah's story ended. We do not know if he repented and surrendered this part of his life to God.

What is your Nineveh? I must ask, "What is my Nineveh?" What is the that one thing that we say we will completely follow God, up to that point. What ae we willing to throw our life away over? What are we willing to quit serving God over? How do we hate so much that we would be willing to die, to keep from having to minister to them? Chances are, we may not even know. God knows. If he so choses, he will confront us with that part of our heart also. Are we going to be like Jonah or will we do better. The key if complete surrender to God, even when He asks us to do something we do not like.

Father, I do not want to be Jonah. I don't want to hate someone so much that I would be willing to quit the ministry so that they could die and go to Hell. I also know that I am capable to doing the exact same thing. If there is someone or a group in my life that I am willing to let die and go to Hell, please change my heart.