God's Arsenal

        Indiana had a lot of tornadoes.  I lived in the northern section and it was just a way of life.  One tornado hit Elkhart, Indiana and a bank was destroyed.  they found canceled checks from that bank in Toledo, Ohio which is about 60 miles east of Elkhart.  God has a lot of things at His disposal when getting our attention.  Some of them, we just don't even think about happening.  Moms and Dads often use the threat of corporal punishment as a deterrent to disobedience but God uses methods we would never think about.  Take for instance the story of one man named Jonah who was given a great opportunity to preach.  Jonah 1:3-4 says, " But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken."  

      The story of Jonah is one that is well known and also one that has come under great criticism.  Everyone seems to think that the great fish was a whale and then tries to make everything fit together, which it doesn't.  God, being God, can and does create anything He want to create when and where it is needed whether it be a "great fish" a "whirlwind" or "manna."  Jesus calmed the sea in the middle of a storm and stood before men and women on the Mount of Olives and rose up into heaven during His ascension.  We often question why God allows certain things to happen and when we have the limited knowledge that we have, we should be able to come to the conclusion that only God knows the reason.  The sailors on the ship that carried Jonah were anxious to get rid of Jonah when they found out that he was the cause of their pending doom, so over the side he went, but the fish was there and Jonah was going to get a second chance to get his priorities straight.  The request was repeated a second time in chapter three and after the experience that Jonah had come through, he was wise in heading to Nineveh to preach a simple message.  God may chose to use some other way to get you to do what He has planned for you to do.  It is best for you to know what He want you to do and then to do it rather than waiting to find out what His alternative way is going to be.  After all, in the end, God gets His way accomplished.  It is fortunate for us that we have the record of the reactions of men and women to the message of God in His Word.  It should be a valuable lesson to each and every one of us.  Praise God for His Word.  Read and Learn!