Jonah Archives – Sonshine's Journal

July 6, 2023July 6, 2023

Will you go?

Jonah 1-4 Jonah is not only a Hebrew but also a Hebrew who worships the Lord, the God of heaven. Yet, Jonah is a picture of the selfish racial condemnation of others. God said in Isaiah, who will go for us and Isaiah said, “send me.” Yet, Jonah hearing that same call turns a blind eye and says, “send another, not me.” Does this sound familiar? Do we have excuses why we do not say “send me?” Look within and see why we take a ship to Tarshish and sleep away the opportunities God has placed before us. We are the Jonahs of today with our plethora of excuses.

Yet as the Psalmist said, “The Lord is merciful and fair; our God is compassionate.” [Ps 116:5] He will not relent when He has a plan to send men/women to the lost fields of Nineveh to bring them hope and the message of salvation. He may send a fish or a neighbor, or another believer to accost us in our tracks and redirect us to the lost. God is the antithesis of Jonah, and we are to be His messengers of hope as He is the God of hope.

Where is God directing you this day? To whom will you bring the message of God’s love and hope?

February 15, 2016

“The Jonah Syndrome Surfaces Again”

acts 11 jonah syndrome2a What is it that we do not learn from Jonah and what do we learn? We don’t learn to obey God instantly—no questions asked. We do learn that “God does not show favoritism in dealing with people!”

Peter falls into the Jonah Syndrome in a vision of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and hears “Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” Peter vehemently tells God no and we say “NO???” Instead of being shocked by Peter’s response, we must remember that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We too often say the same. God asks us to speak to our neighbor or an office mate and we come up with all kinds of excuses—just like Jonah. But, God is adamant about obedience as Peter will learn when Gentile strangers show up at the door asking for him. We smile to see God’s sense of humor. Hmm, Peter you didn’t get it yet so, I have a real life lesson and it includes you and Gentiles.

But then into this mix are the naysayers, the circumcised “holier than thou” Jewish believers. It is then that he hears and we hear: “how c-o-u-l-d you do that!” But, God has a plan that is as true then as now: “He loves ALL people!” God did that in Nineveh, in the home of Cornelius and now in Jerusalem with these believers.

Be careful of saying “no” to God or you might find yourself in a Jonah situation and have to take a real life lesson walk. You don’t want to miss God at work!

July 27, 2015

Storms as Life Lessons

Yesterday as we were helping a young couple pack and move, their 10 mth old was wrestling with himself on the floor. He wanted to sit up but no one was helping him. He just kept persevering and before he knew it there he was in a sitting position. It was a vivid illustration of how we often strive to achieve something and we seem to be alone in our struggle. God lets us struggle and when we find victory we are filed with joy just as this little was beaming from ear to ear. It is then that God reaches down with his still small voice and says “well done thou good and faithful servant.”

As I have been teaching each Saturday night I noted that the stories that have been chosen for me are all about wind, waves and storms. So as we compared Jonah, the disciples in Matt 8 and Matt 14 we noted how in each case the wind and waves sought to overturn the boats. Jonah’s storm was a storm of correction and his pride led him to this disastrous storm. But, even in we saw the truth that God will take what is bad and use it to accomplish His will and His purpose for good. One of the boys asked why the sailors believed Jonah’s God was the true God and the answer is that it was only when they saw the wind and waves cease that they knew and worshiped the God of Jonah. How often are we like this. We say we have to see much like the Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven. The same thing happened with the disciples. God sent them into a storm so that they might know and worship His Son. But, since they did not learn the lesson, Jesus sent them into a second pre-arranged perfect storm. It was only then that they fell upon their faces and worshiped.

Why is that we have to weather storms and sometimes even repeat them? The baby’s striving and Jonah’s struggle is an illustration of how hard we try to do things on our own. Sometimes God lets us struggle in the storm and sometimes he comes to rescue us. It all depends on where we are in our faith walk. The disciples show us how dull we are to learn the lesson God wants us to learn and so he sends us through another perfect storm.

Oh that we might learn from our struggles and hear the words of praise from our Lord. Oh that we might learn the lesson in the first storm and fall upon our faces and worship him. Where are we? Are we in the perfect storm struggling like the disciples against the wind? Are we like the sailors who struggled so as to not dump Jonah overboard?

July 23, 2015

Lord Save Me!

This is the second time the disciples have witnessed first-hand the power of the Christ in a storm. In Matt 8 the disciples unsuccessfully battle a storm and Jesus sleeps through it all. Being awakened he commands the wind and the sea to cease and it does. Then the disciples ask “What sort of person is this?” Now as they once again are unsuccessful in another storm Jesus comes walking to them on the water. This time after the wind ceases they worship him and say “Truly you are the Son of God.”

As they ponder what has just transpired the disciples hear Jesus ask Peter ‘why did you doubt?’ Perhaps James remembers the disciples recounting this story and the truth principle derived from it: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.” Unlike Jonah who knew what God could and would do in Nineveh, the disciples needed a faith lesson. Jonah did not call out to the Lord until he was “IN” the midst of the fish’s belly. Peter called out to Jesus “ON” the water. How many storms does Jesus have to bring into our lives before we stop and worship him? When we face a storm that God has pre-arranged do we wait until we are in the midst of the storm, do we doubt or do we have faith that the Son of God will immediately save us? Jesus save us should be our cry.

July 22, 2015

Laboring in the Vineyard or Sitting on the Hillside with Jonah?

Just as there are two sides to a coin there are two sides to every story. Note vs 1 of Proverbs 18: “One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires;he rejects all sound judgment.” (NET). Note this is self-imposed not God imposed as in the case of Moses (Ex 3:1), the plain for Ezekiel (Ezek 3:22), the wilderness for John (Luke 1:80), Arabia for Paul (Gal 1:17) and the wilderness for His Blessed Son (Mark 1). And that is where we find the two sides to every story.

There are those who seek isolation due to a need or desire to grow closer to God but vs 1 clearly indicates that this is not the case. These are people who have a “Jonah complex.” They fail to see the ramifications of their isolation and God’s plan and purpose for their life. Jonah really did not want the sailors to know his God, nor did he want the Ninevites to be saved. That is the problem with the self-isolationist and we would be wise to beware of this for God has given us the gift of the gospel message that we might reach the world for Christ. Perhaps this is why the author of Hebrews reminded us to not abandon “meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.” [Heb 10:25]

The question before us is: do we too have a “Jonah complex” or do we see that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Are we laboring in the vineyard or sitting on the hillside with Jonah?