We are going to take a little boat trip on the ocean today, so if you get seasick, bring along some crackers to settle your tummy. Oh - and don't forget to bring along your Bible too - you're going to need this precious map as we travel with Jonah beginning at chapter one, verse one....
"Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah...."
Not only Jonah, but you and I too! The Word of the Lord comes to us when we open our Bibles and study them, amen? We get unmistakable direction and purpose for our lives from God this way, as verse 2 shows us...
"Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry against it for their wickedness is come up before me."
The question is, do we willingly take the path the Lord would have us to? Does that always mean we will follow God's travel itinerary He has clearly laid out for us? How does verse 3 show Jonah responding to God's authority over his life?
"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."
Little did Jonah know what he bought for himself when he paid that fare and ran from God! How convenient that Jonah just happened to find a ship that would take him away from the center of God's will.... I wonder who the captain was of that ship - the devil perhaps?? Ladies, if you're looking for a way to back out on God, you'll find a ship waiting for you too! Yet, little do we know what kind of trouble we are buying into when we refuse to follow the Lord's leading in our lives.... We have no idea that we are headed for very stormy times as verse 4 reveals in Jonah's life...
"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."
This is where you'll want to get out your crackers and eat them, this is the part where we will begin to get nauseous as the winds come and the storms rage against us. And you know, that's just what we do when we refuse to yield to God's authority over us, amen? We start to get a little upset over our circumstances and we reach for our own methods of soothing ourselves - our own crackers so to speak, so we can cover up the real problem just as Jonah did in verse 5 with sleep....
"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."
What a lesson we can learn about ourselves from Jonah! We learn that we cannot depend upon our conscience alone. You see, while the storm raged, Jonah was sound asleep below deck. We discover that even as he ran from God, Jonah’s actions apparently didn’t bother his conscience. However, the absence of guilt isn’t always a barometer of whether or not we are doing right! Because we can deny reality, we cannot measure obedience by our feelings, amen? Jonah could have said to himself, "Hmm, I don't FEEL bad at all for doing things my way, so this direction must be okay for me to take." Is this the way Christians should measure the choices they make?? Certainly not! Instead, we must compare what we do with God’s standards for living, with what He says in His Word is right, rather than allowing our feelings to be our guide.
Psalm 48:14, " For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."
Jonah's sleeping conscience was bringing anxiety upon the weaker consciences of those around him. Those mariners he was traveling with were familiar with storms, they knew this was a bad one, even if Jonah didn't realize it! In desperation, they thought something needed to be subtracted from the ship, so they through their wares overboard. They were also fearfully praying to their gods, for their consciences were weakened by Jonah's behavior. So too, when we are determined to head off in our own direction we are going to cause others around us to stumble. Has your selfish behavior ever negatively affected a nearby lost person, dear lady? We must be always be sensitive to the consciences of others and prevent this from happening! In this case, something needed to be added to the trip, not subtracted.... That something was Jonah's obedience and the testimony of a clear conscience before God!
Acts 24:16, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men."
Have you weakened the consciences of others with your "personal travel plans"? The only way to be sure is to exercise your conscience and find out whether this is true or not.... Make sure whenever you purchase your sailing ticket, you are not also purchasing for yourself offense toward God or men! We need to be careful that we take pains to pack a clear conscience in our luggage on whatever "trip" we take! We must be willing to live honestly before both God and man. If you can't, then postpone your trip! You'll only end up shipwrecked as Jonah did....
1 Timothy 1:19, "Holding faith and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck."
"Holding faith"....know what that means, ladies? Hold tightly onto the Word of God with every step you take! AND be sure to bring along a good conscience too... With faith in one hand and a clear conscience in the other, we'll be balanced on our journey! We can't travel with just our conscience on the sea of life, for we have learned from Jonah that it can fall asleep, it can be ignored! You and I need the Word of God as our map to steer us in the right direction, amen? As Christians, we try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, but without holding onto faith, we will sin and go against the direction that God has given us in His Word. This is the behavior that leaves a child of God with a guilty or uneasy conscience. Ladies, when God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. When God shows us something is right for us, we should do it!
So, what direction are you headed in today, sailor lady? Have you been faithfully following God's travel itinerary for your life? Are you holding tightly onto your Map? Are you able to pack your clear conscience and take it with you? With such important matters of preparation tended to, you'll find that you'll be able to leave your crackers at home and guarantee yourself some smooth sailing....
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
