Photo taken by author
Our dog Scruffy in the picture often needs to hear the same word more than once before he obeys. As people, are we much different when God asks us to do something?
In our story today the Lord repeats the message that He first gave to Jonah. He told Jonah “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim the message I will give you.” The message Jonah received from God was to tell the people of Nineveh to turn from their wicked ways or they would be destroyed in 40 days. Time was running out for the people of Nineveh and only turning away from their sin and turning toward the Lord would save them.
Jonah had already tried running from God. This disobedience endangered a ship’s crew and got Jonah thrown overboard in a storm. Then God rescued him by a great fish. The second time Jonah receives this message, he heads directly to Nineveh with no detours. As the story unfolds the people received the message Jonah proclaimed and turned away from their sin.
Jonah’s obedience to God affected the entire city of Nineveh, which scholars think was the largest city in the world at that time.
Each time you and I respond to the Lord and obey Him, it affects those around us. It could be a something as common as asking someone to forgive you. It could be responding to the prompting by the Holy Spirit to pray for someone. It could be holding your tongue instead of saying something that would hurt another person.
Today take time to listen to what the Lord would like you to do or say and obey what he is prompting you to do. You will be surprised how blessed you and others will be when you do.
Want to learn more about the Journey of Jonah? Click here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/journey-with-jonah-1/jonah-preaches
If you would like more teaching about this text, consider listening to these podcasts: