Thoughts from Jonah/Part 3

Jonah 1 brings several thoughts to mind. Among the considerations from the first chapter:

1. We cannot flee from the presence of the Lord. It is impossible. We may make various types of life changes, but none of them will resolve the issue of rebellion. Repentance is absolutely necessary.

2. Our obedience/disobedience always involves other people. We do not live life in absolute isolation. Jonah's initial disobedience prolonged the horrible living conditions in Nineveh; the Ninevites gave no regard to God and his laws, thus human life was assigned little worth. And Jonah's disobedience jeopardized the lives of the pagan sailors.

3. Although God does use us in spite of our disobedience, as in the case of the sailors coming to faith in the God of Israel, we should never mistake this as meaning we are in fellowship with God.
Sinclair Ferguson writes, "There are times in our lives when the Lord will employ us in his service despite our disobedience, to demonstrate that the grace, the fruit, and the glory are entirely his...But it is also a warning to us, lest we be deceived by what God is able to do into a false sense of fellowship with him." Addressing this subject, John Newton once wrote, "Beware, my friend, of mistaking the ready exercise of gifts for the exercise of grace."

4. God is in control...of everything. He sent the storm. He sent the fish. According to Paul, this God is for us and not against us because of Jesus! Let us learn to rest in the power of the sovereign God that loves us with a perfect love.