September 7

 

How dumb can a person be, a prophet of God, nontheless? How could Jonah have ever thought he would be able to outrun God? (Jonah 1) How did that thought even enter his mind? He knew who God was, he was aware of His omniscience, His power. He knew that resistance to God’s will was and is futile. He was a prophet! These were the kinds of things that prophets prophesied about! Evidently, he had a lapse in judgment as he hopped on that boat to Tarshish, a city that was roughly 2,500 miles away from the place that God wanted him to be. He ran from God! How critical are we of Jonah? How much do we scold him in our sermons and classes for his open defiance to the will of God? Hint: this is a trick question! Most of us openly try to defy God every day of our lives. We know that there are opportunities for us to serve Him, opportunities that He has placed within our paths. Yet, how often do we avoid them? We often lift up prayers to God and ask Him to grant us opportunities to reach the lost. We plead with Him in public prayer to give us opportunities to spread His message of love and salvation. Then we have the audacity to talk among ourselves about how few those opportunities are. I wonder how frustrated God is with us. Day after day, time after time, opportunity after opportunity we either ignore, or run away. Was Jonah dumb for thinking He could run away from God? Yes, it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. So, if Jonah was dumb, what does that make us? Don’t answer that…just take advantage of the next opportunity He provides.

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