Jonah - The Running Man

God has many ways that I believe he uses the Holy Spirit to speak to us today. Sometimes it is through an idea or thought that we can't seem to shake, or a feeling that we can't "run" away from. It could be seeing a homeless person and being stirred within to help them, or to feeling a call to share Christ with someone. It could be reaching out to a friend or brother in Christ in a time of need. But like Jonah, how often do we try to run from the calling instead of embracing it.

Jonah 1: 1-3

• The prophet Nahum explained that Nineveh was guilty of:
  • Evil plots against God
  • Exploitation of the helpless
  • Cruelty in war
  • Idolatry, prostitution, and witchcraft
• Nineveh was a Great City, and within 50 years would become the capital of the vast Assyrian empire.
• What could have made Jonah run away from God and keep him from preaching to the people of Nineveh?
• What have you been running from?

Jonah 1: 4-5 / Jonah 1: 12 / Jonah 1:15-16

• The sailors prayed to each of their gods, but nothing would stop the storm.
• Jonah finally takes responsibility and tells the sailors this it is his fault and that the Lord, the God of heaven brought the storm upon them.
• The sailors threw Jonah over board, and appears to have changed their hearts towards the one True God.
• What storms in life have you experienced that at the end you were brought closer to God?

Jonah 2: 1-10

• This is an amazingly faith filled and humbling prayer of someone who may feel completely in despair being in the belly of that great fish.
• Then God commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry ground.

Jonah 3: 1-3 / Jonah 3: 5-6 / Jonah 3: 10

• Jonah didn't go directly to Nineveh like he was first told. He waited for God to tell him again to go before he was obedient.
• The wicked people of Nineveh believed in God, and feared him as they humbled their selves and prayed to God.
• God saw what they did and how they turned from the evil ways and had compassion on them.
• Jonah was to deliver the bad news, and at hearing the news, the people repented and asked for forgiveness. All because he was obedient to God and delivered a message to the people.

Jonah 4: 1-10

• Jonah was angry that God sent him, because he knew God was forgiving and would have mercy on those that repent from their evil ways. Even to the Gentiles.
• Jonah thought that Nineveh would deserve their punishment for all of the evil they did. Why should he warn them that God was coming to destroy them?
• Was Jonah thinking that he was going to look like a fool when the destruction did not come upon Nineveh? How easy it is to think about ourselves instead of seeing things in the bigger picture?

When we feel God's calling to do something, do we think about ourselves first? Do we think, "What would people around me say or think if I gave the homeless person some food or money?", or "What will this guy think about me if I shared Christ with him?"? We should remember Jonah and remind ourselves that God is always greater than us. That he forgives everyone equally, and cares for everyone the same. It doesn't matter if we look like a fool or not. What matters is that we are obedient to God's call and allow him to receive the Glory even at our expense.