"She is so determined to get her own way she writes her
diary in advance."
Have you ever heard that expression before? It's so true.... Along the
lines of yesterday's topic, today I want us to look at the example of
a man who declined to eat what was placed before him, so turn with me
to the book of Jonah. It's a familiar story to us all but a good reminder
each and every time we go back to it, amen?
Jonah 1:1-3, "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai,
saying, [2] Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it;
for their wickedness is come up before me. [3] But Jonah rose up to flee
unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and
he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went
down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."
The word of the Lord came unto Jonah.... What did God set before him?
A command to go to Ninevah. This was Jonah's plate of peas, so to speak.
He was told to cry against this great city on the Lord's behalf. You see,
the Lord wanted to use Jonah's voice to warn the wicked. However, God
couldn't use his voice because He didn't have Jonah's heart.... What was
Jonah's response to this "plate of peas"? He turned up his nose at it
in refusal and rebellion! He became a "picky" eater... At this point,
Jonah was a man who had not yet learned to wholeheartedly accept what
the Lord brought into His life, he was still determined to have his own
way, write his own diary.... As we learned yesterday, when that happens,
we run from God's will, amen? Due to our bad manners, we push the plate
away, rise up from the table AND from the presence of God....
Isaiah 59:7, "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent
blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction
are in their paths."
After refusing the "meal" God prepared for him, the only thing left for
Jonah to do is to look for another place to eat, amen? Where else do we
go then but to the world.... Ladies, you and I usually don't have to go
very far to find a place that has a menu filled with our favorites, designed
by the devil himself just for our personal taste buds! When the devil
sees that we aren't willing to eat our "peas" from God, he makes sure
there is something nearby that looks and smells much better and appeals
to our fleshly desires. The price satan charges for satisfaction appears
relatively inexpensive at first.... Don't you find it a coincidence that
a ship just happened to be available to take Jonah away? Scripture shows
Jonah had no trouble at all finding his own way. The ready was is not
always the right way, amen? I'll bet the fare of that "get away" trip
to Tarshish was surprisingly affordable. What a break for Jonah.....or
was it??
Ladies, do you see the progression of the way that Jonah was handling
the affairs of his life? Upon refusal of the Lord's command to go to Ninevah,
his plate of "peas" so to speak, he then progresses toward a mindset of
running from his problems. First a refusal, then a running. How much easier
it is just to eat those "peas" and receive strength and nourishment from
the Lord who loves us, amen?
Verse 4 says, "But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there
was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."
The fact that Jonah refused the Lord's command and then ran from His presence
certainly did not alter God's ability to still rule in the affairs of
Jonah's life! A mighty tempest now surrounded this stubborn man, sent
by God Himself. God’s will is hard only when it comes up against our stubbornness,
amen ladies? The Lord pursued Jonah out of love and a desire to train
him to "eat" whatever He placed before him. God knows what is good for
Jonah - and us too!
As I stated yesterday, you and I need to have that same attitude toward
our children when they refuse to eat of the physical food we place before
them. Don't allow little Johnny and Suzy to determine what will be served
them and what will not. Let me say too, that with all the eating out in
restaurants that goes on these days, this has added to the problem! Our
children are allowed to scan the menus and pick their favorites far too
often! When we go out to eat, my husband and I usually make those choices
for our children, for we know what we can afford and what we want them
to have. What has happened to the days when everyone was content to eat
whatever Mom fixed for dinner?! Do you see how easy it is to end up with
an attitude like Jonah?? Maybe we as parents are Jonah's ourselves in
always wanting our own way and declining God's....
Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way...."
Ladies, God loves us too much to let us get away with refusing Him or
disobeying His commands. To put your foot down against their stubbornness
is to properly love your children... The way we are training them to obey
us, is the way we are also training them to obey the Lord! How are you
doing Mom and Dad; are you the authority in your home, or are your children?
Are YOU deciding what goes on, or are they?? Could there be any Jonah's
residing at your house, or have they run away? That's what Jonah's do
best....
Jonah 1:5, "Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his
god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten
it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he
lay, and was fast asleep."
Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches
and nations... It is a disquieting, disturbing thing to be out of fellowship
with God! Not only do we cause problems for ourselves, we cause problems
for those around us too. The mariners that Jonah accompanied on the ship
to Tarshish were seized with fear because of the tempestuous storm they
were caught in. They reacted to their crisis in two ways: they all started
praying to their gods and then began throwing things overboard to lighten
the ship. Without knowing the true God, they were trying their best to
improve the situation... What was Jonah doing, the one who knew the Lord?
He is found in the bottom of the ship sleeping, clueless to the danger
he had placed himself and those around him in! First a refusal, then a
running, and now a resting in the world.... Jonah is trying to get comfortable
outside of the Lord's will. But that won't last long, amen?
Luke 12:47, "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared
not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many
stripes."
So too ladies, when you and I are running from what God wants us to do,
we try and convince ourselves that it's pretty comfortable in the place
we picked to hide. Like Jonah we think, "Why, we could even sleep here!"
And we do fall asleep in that hiding place - spiritually asleep, that
is! Don't kid yourself though, even the world recognizes Christians that
have fallen spiritually asleep through running from God....
Verses 6-8 say, "So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What
meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will
think upon us, that we perish not. [7] And they said every one to his
fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this
evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. [8] Then
said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is
upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy
country? and of what people art thou?"
You see ladies, because of our "picky" attitudes, people around us get
a fuzzy picture of the Lord! We place unnecessary questions and doubts
in their hearts and minds of what Christianity is all about. Shame on
us when we paint such an unclear portrait of our great God! Picky eaters
are poor painters, for they cannot add clarity to the lives of others
when their own view of God is so distorted through decline. Our focus
becomes vastly hindered and so does the focus of those witnessing our
lives. When you are bent on running from God, you rarely notice how much
you're hurting others....
Jonah 1:9-11, "And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord,
the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. [10] Then
were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done
this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because
he had told them. [11] Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto
thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous."
Imagine the world having to straighten out a Christian! That's exactly
what took place here.... The sailors put Jonah through an interrogation
process in order to learn of his offense and to extract a confession of
his guilt when he should have done that on his own! Ladies, we cause others
to interrogate us only when we hide the Lord from them in search of our
own ways. The world naturally asks pointed questions to bring your relationship
with the Lord out of hiding! God has many ways of bringing to light hidden
sins and sinners.... Have you ever had a friend or loved one interrogate
you about the wrong personal choices you've made? Perhaps if you made
your testimony for the Lord clearer, people would not have to debate you
so strongly! Better to humbly admit where you have disobeyed God than
to go on living an obvious lie... Your walk must match your talk or you'll
end up seriously confusing somebody - yourself included!
Jonah 1:12-13, "And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into
the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake
this great tempest is upon you. [13] Nevertheless the men rowed hard to
bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was
tempestuous against them."
Lost people are affected for all of eternity because we refuse to live
in obedience to the Lord and paint a clear picture of who He is! Though
Jonah admitted where he was wrong and told them how to remedy the dilemma,
the sailors were still striving their own way to get to land safely. Sad
to say, they can't see God clearly enough in Jonah's life to see their
need to call upon his God for salvation! Ladies, when the ship we are
on goes down, the lost go down with us - but they go straight to hell!
I hope that in your life there is not a plate of peas that you are refusing
to eat of that might just be at the expense of a lost soul ending up in
hell.... Is the Lord calling you to serve Him in ways that are unattractive
or unpleasant to your spiritual taste buds? Have you pushed the plate
away and run from God's presence like Jonah? Have you brought doubt and
confusion upon your testimony for the Lord because of recent hasty or
unwise decisions? In determination to have your own way, have you written
your diary in advance?? It's dangerous business to decline God's will!
Someone nearby will always stand to suffer... Why not just obediently
eat your peas and allow God to use your voice as He wanted to use Jonah's
to warn the wicked....
Jonah 1:14-16, "Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech
thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life,
and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it
pleased thee. [15] So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the
sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. [16] Then the men feared the
Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows."
Finally these distraught, lost men ended up crying out to God for help,
when Jonah couldn't even do it himself! Jonah ended up being tossed out
by the lost people at his own request, he was unwanted baggage to the
world, of no use to them at all. Oh, I hope that is not our testimony
today! I hope our lives are affecting the cause of Christ for good and
not for evil. Because he dared to be disobedient at the dinner table,
Jonah was now choking on the food he chose to eat over that which had
initially been prepared for him! Though he did not know it yet, Jonah
was soon going to be the meal of a great fish.... Ladies, not eating of
God's choice means you'll eventually be eaten up by your own sinful choices!
In his heart Jonah knew he was bringing more harm to these sailors than
help - and to himself! How much easier it would have been to just accept
what God had placed before him, thereby avoiding all this conflict for
everyone!
What rebellious attitudes have you ever had toward the Lord, dear lady?
In looking back, are you able to now see the way that the Lord pursued
you and did not give up on you while you avoided Him? How does that make
you feel now? Aren't you thankful for all the remarkable ways the Lord
has delivered you and lovingly drew you back to Him? Yes, Jonah ended
up in the belly of that fish three days, which God purposely prepared
for Him. It was of the Lord’s mercies that Jonah was not consumed entirely....
This was not originally what God had fixed for Jonah to eat, amen? It
was originally just a call to go to Ninevah! But Jonah pushed that plate
away and the Lord said, "Okay, then I'll have to fix you this big fish
dinner!" Either way ladies, you and I will end up eating what the Lord
prepares for us, amen? Which would you rather eat from? The plate of obedience
or the plate of disobedience? I must confess, those little green peas
are looking better to me every day!
Psalm 119:32, "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt
enlarge my heart."
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 1999 Pamela A. Iannello
