​Last week we left with Jonah being thrown overboard to save the sailors on the ship.  Jonah may have thought he would surely die and not have to go to Nineveh, but God had different plans.  As Jonah was thrown overboard, he literally began to drown in the ocean.  I love what verse seventeen says, “But the Lord prepared a big fish to swallow Jonah.”  Nothing is accidental in this story.  God is literally using all the things he created to carry out a mission He wants accomplished.  Basically we can sum it up like this: if God tells us to do something, do it. If He has ordained it one way or another, it will happen. As Jonah is sinking down into the sea he gives us very descriptive thoughts: “From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.  I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down;  the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit” Jonah 2:2-6).
 
Jonah knew he had disobeyed God. He knew he was wrong, so he called out to the Lord.  Don’t miss what happens in the same verse- God listened to his cry.  No matter how many steps separate us from God, one step toward Him instantly puts us back in His presence.  It says, “But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.”  I am getting so excited just writing this because it means God will not leave us where we are if we seek Him.  He can heal a marriage, friendship, family, body, or even the spirit.  He can bring us up from the muck we are in and put our feet on solid ground. The truth is God does not display any of our human characteristics-thank goodness.  He doesn’t hold a grudge, wish us ill will, or hope we get what we deserve.  He is completely opposite, hoping to love, comfort, protect, and restore us into His will. The fish was never to harm Jonah but God’s grace for him.  The fish was prepared by God to preserve Jonah’s life.  It allowed Jonah to have a new perspective on life.  Sometimes we need a jolt in our life to give us God’s perspective and not our own.  I imagine if we were sitting in the belly of a fish we would have a lot of time on our hands to review our actions.  In the end the scripture tells us Jonah’s thoughts, “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”  This is Jonah’s turning point.  He has now repented of his disobedience and tells the Lord of his planned obedience. The fish vomits Jonah onto the land.  I am picturing a man standing on the shore covered in goo and nastiness.  I don’t imagine coming out of a fish you would look or smell your best.  I think the imagery here is that along with sin comes a lot of unwanted excess debris.  When we sin we cannot help but pick up unwanted items that weigh us down and entangle us.  I am reminded by the verse in Hebrews 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  Jonah I am sure had to shake off a few things as he exited the belly of the fish in order to continue his walk.  The same is true for us.  When we repent of our sins, we have to shake off the sin that is on us, turn from it, and start walking in God’s will.  My favorite verse is in chapter three when the scripture says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.”  We should say Hallelujah to this because it means that our God is a God of second chances.  No matter where we are in our life, God always hears our call and is ready to extend his grace!
 
I just wonder if there is anyone today who is exhausted from running from God?  Is there anyone who feels like they are in a pit they can’t escape?  Is there someone who is ready to give up on a marriage, or relationship because they don’t feel it’s worth it?  Is there anyone who just feels overwhelmed with doing what God has called them to do?  The bottom line is that no matter where you are right now in your life, all you have to do is cry out to the Lord, and He will hear you.  He will instantly bring you into His presence.  Mathew 11:28 says "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  I pray for each of you today that no matter where you are, you feel the presence of God speaking to you in your life!

​As I began to think about what I should teach my students in kids worship, I was also involved in studying Jonah.  I know you are probably thinking in your head you’ve heard “Jonah and the Fish” a million times so there is no need to revisit the story. Well, let me encourage you to reconsider.  This is a powerful book with just four short chapters.  The truth is if you turn too fast in your Bible you could miss its story of rebellion, compassion, grace, second chances, and over all redemption.
 
As we begin let’s take a look at some facts about Jonah.  He was the fifth of twelve minor prophets and took care of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.   Second Kings 14 gives us proof that Jonah was a successful prophet by recording his prophecy during the reign of Jeroboam II.  He predicted a great expansion of Israel’s territory, which was confirmed in a short amount of time.  Jesus even speaks of Jonah: “but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Mathew 12:40 
 
The book begins with a specific word for Jonah: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it.”  God could not be clearer on what he wanted Jonah to do.  There was only one problem - Jonah did not want to comply.   The people of Nineveh were archenemies of Israel.  They were known for their barbarism and harsh ways.  As we all know the children of Israel did not exactly have the perfect record.  They had been defeated, delivered into the enemy’s hands, and suffered numerous times because of their rebellion.  Yet, every time God’s people repented, He had mercy on them.  Because Jonah intimately knew his God, he knew his character “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah 4:2  Jonah knew there was a chance God could extend his mercy to these people and it was appalling to him.  Although God had extended mercy to the Israelites time after time, his hate and animosity for these people clouded his vision.  He was in essence trying to control who received God’s grace.  Before we judge Jonah harshly for his disobedience, and lack of compassion let’s ask ourselves this question: “Has God ever stirred our heart to do something, and we said no by doing nothing, or running the other way?” 

Jonah took the first boat to Tarshish.  Why Tarshish?   Why not just stay in Israel? Jonah went to Tarshish because it was completely in the opposite direction of the Lord’s command.  God’s presence dwelled in the Temple of his land, so Jonah was trying to put as much distant between him and the Lord as possible.  Did Jonah know he couldn’t escape God? Of course he did - he was a prophet.  Sometimes our minds and our hearts can be miles from each other.  Sometime we cling to the old saying “out of sight-out of mind.”  The only problem is if God has called us to it, He will not allow peace until it is accomplished.
  As we know, the great storm started to brew and the sailors began to panic.  Where was Jonah? He was asleep in the hull of the boat.  So pagan sailors who did not know the Lord began to beg “the man of God” to pray to save them all.  What is wrong with this picture? Do you think Jonah knew why the storm was brewing? Of course he did. So when they begin to ask questions, Jonah confessed, “I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord of heaven that made the sea and dry land.” He also confesses he is running from the Lord. So Jonah was crossing a sea, which he just stated His God controls in order to escape that same God.  His statements and his actions do not match up.  When God calls us to yield we think we can escape God by distance, but Psalm 139 reminds us: 
 
Psalm 139
Where can I go from your Spirit?
 Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
 if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
 if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
 your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
 and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
 the night will shine like the day,
 for darkness is as light to you.
 
Jonah’s sleep here can represent the lackadaisical Christian attitude we have.  We want to say how selfish of Jonah to be asleep while putting all these people in danger.  Why is he not more concerned, more compassionate? Where is his love for his God and people?  We too are on a ship that has high winds and huge waves – it’s called life.  Everyday there are people struggling around us, yet we do nothing. There are lost people going to hell, but we do not share our faith.  There are marriages ending in divorce in our own churches, yet we think it is none of our business.  The truth is we may not be on an actual boat, but much of the time we are asleep in our Christian walk.
 
The next thing is that Jonah told the sailors to pick him up and hurl him into the sea. I find this interesting.  Why doesn’t he just throw himself overboard if he knows the problem?  Why make these poor sailors, in their mind, “kill” him by drowning him?  Reluctantly, they hurled him over, and instantly they knew who God was because the winds and waves calmed.  The fear the sailors had started out with over the storm has now been converted into a reverent fear of worshiping God with vows and sacrifices.  I think Jonah’s heart was why he asked them to throw him overboard.  I think that although he knew what was right, he was deathly afraid of the consequences.   God was either going to allow him to die, or he was going to Nineveh, and I think both options seemed equal horrendous to him.
 
Where are you today?  Are you on the run from God?  Do you have on running shoes? Are you sleeping on your Christian watch?  Does anger and bitterness cloud your judgment when it comes to others? We have a couple weeks to go but here is a little spoiler- God always gets His way!

Grief is a time when our heart endures a trauma.  There are many different things that can cause grief, such as broken relationships, the death of a loved one, betrayal, loss of a job, loss of health, a wayward child, infertility--the list could go on and on.  Sometimes when people are grieving for any reason it makes us very uncomfortable.  Maybe even so uncomfortable we choose not to be around at all.  The truth is we do not have to be overwhelmed when trying to minster to people.  Many times it is simply our presence, compassion, and concern that steady their hearts.  Recently we lost my mother-in-law suddenly to a heart attack.  As I look back over this time, there are a couple people that stand out in my mind.  One is my sister-in-law’s pastor, Bro. Steve.  He was there shortly after we arrived.  He of course spoke to us when he came in and may have led us in a short prayer.  However, during the moments that followed, he just sat quietly being present with us.  Two others also stand out: Mike and Matt, lifelong friends of Chad and Shane.  They arrived about 9pm and sat with us in the waiting room until the wee hours of the morning.  They did not bring scriptures to quote or answers for our questions but simply their love in their presence.  Sometimes in a situation someone's presence can mean more than a thousand words.  I think it is human nature to try to immediately make it better.  The truth is we cannot.  Sometimes we try to push people to be ok so it doesn't make us feel awkward.  I told Chad, "You do not have to be ok for everyone else.  Grieve at your own pace and do what is best for you, not those around you."  Recently I read something that said, "Grief never ends....but it changes.  It is a passage not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith.... it is truly the price of love!"  Nicole Vaughn shared this song and I was intrigued by it so I looked up the back story.  I have included both the song and the story.  It is just a simple reminder to those grieving that it is acceptable to not feel like everything is ok, and there is not a set time limit. And to the ones who minister, it is a reminder that your willingness to be present is often worth more than words!