Look at me! I’m supposed to be a prophet of God, but I was so wrapped up in myself that when God gave me a mission I didn’t stop long enough to ask for guidance. First of all, I assessed the situation on my own terms. Niniveh was a huge city, it took three days to travel from one side to the other. Next, it was a busy city – all types of hustle and bustle and traffic congestion – but most of all it was a wicked city, full of every vice and crime known to man.
No Lord, not me, I reasoned. I don’t want to be caught in a place like that!! In fact, I want to be as far away from there as I possibly can no matter how much it cost. So the next thing I did was go to the sea port at Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid my fare and boarded it. I didn’t even have a clue where Tarshish was but all I knew was that it was far away in the opposite direction. .
Can you imagine how stupid I was to think that I could hide from God? As I said, I was totally wrapped up in myself so I wasn’t even concerned about who or what was on the ship, I just went down in the middle of the ship and went fast asleep. Next thing I knew there was so much yelling and commotion – everyone was screaming and panicking.
You know my story well so I don’t have to go through all the details but I just want to remind you of a few points. By the time I was thrown overboard, the sailors who were calling on so many false gods were praying to the living God. Somehow they knew who I was even though I wanted to forget.
Secondly, it was God who prepared the fish to swallow me and preserve me for three days and nights in its belly. Some people don’t believe the story but I can testify that God can do all things. But it wasn’t a pleasant trip. Can you imagine the slime and half digested seafood that I landed in? As the fish swam up and down in the sea the nausea was overwhelming? There in the belly of the fish I prayed as I’d never done before.
When the fish finally threw me out I was totally confused, but God issued the call a second time – go and preach to the Ninevites. I ran like crazy to give the warning. It was amazing to see the response. All the wicked people turned to God. They humbled themselves and repented but instead of being happy about it I was still so self-centred that all I could think about was how everybody would look at me like an idiot because my warning didn’t happen.
You know, a lot of people are just like me – so self focused that you don’t even realize what it going on around you. God was saving a city, He was even using me, and all I could think about was myself and what people would think..
God had to give me a practical object lesson by growing up the gourd over my head and then taking it away. Even then, He had to explain to me that if I could be so upset about a gourd that I did nothing to produce being taken away, how much more He cares for human beings that He has created.
God had a plan from the beginning. He saw hope in the wicked people of Nineveh and He wanted to save them and He wanted to use me. What honour He chose me for and because of my selfishness and disobedience, I brought trouble on myself.
God sees hope in all of us and wants to save us and use us according to His plan. Let us stop focusing on our likes and dislikes, move out of our comfort zone, surrender our will to Him and He will accomplish great things through us.