Going in the Right Direction

         Some people just don't like to be told what to do. For some, it might be dependent upon the authority of the person telling you what to do. I pay absolutely no attention to “Facebook” which tells me, “share if you do this.” I don't share anything that anybody tells me to share just because I do it or like it. Any commands from Facebook are very low on my list of things that I must do. When I was young and my Father said to do something, I did it, no questions asked as I knew there would be reasonable consequences if I didn't do them. When I worked on the farm, the job of “cleaning out the barn” was often given to me, and I did it, even though I didn't like it. I was getting paid for working there and I obeyed what the owner said or I would be without a job. When I worked for Safeway in the Washington, D. C. area, I often had to do jobs that I didn't like, but again, I was getting the same amount of money so I did what I was told. Jonah 1:1-2 says, “ Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”

        Jonah has often been criticized for being a person that was not obedient to what God told him to do. It was a short command, clear and to the point, but Jonah chose to go the opposite direction and to completely ignore God's command. The remaining verses of chapters one and two tell what happens when you disobey God. That was also clear and to the point. Jonah then experienced a second chance to do what God told him to do in the first place. Chapter 3 begins with the same command but perhaps a little more emphatic. Jonah may not have liked the command, but he did it. His message was short and the people of Nineveh did respond to it and the city was spared for another 150 years. Most of us would agree that when God gives you an order, you should really think about obeying it to the best of your ability instantly. Secondly, we would agree that God has given us His revelation to us in the Bible and that it is “God breathed” as it states in second Timothy 3:16-17. Third, God is not going to contradict His Word. He said what He wanted to say by the way He said it and all of the directions we need are contained in His Word. God wanted Jonah to take God's message of repentance to the people of Nineveh but Jonah didn't take to that idea, so went a different way and tried to ignore the message. God, however, has ways of getting our attention when we are disobedient and God sure got Jonah's attention while on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. God was in control of the situation and he got Jonah turned around and back on the beach. Then, He gave Jonah the same instruction and this time, Jonah headed off in the right direction. There are a number of lessons for us in this short book. God has a message for people and we are the ones that have the instruction to deliver that message to the people. God has a purpose for you and me and for all people to glorify Him and to enjoy His presence. God has a clear message about sin and its results and the message has been the same throughout all history. We can look at the commands of the Scriptures such as the Great commission and the words of Christ in Acts 1:8 as He got ready to ascend into heaven. We can find the message in John 14:1-6 that Jesus is coming again and that He is the Way, the Truth and the life and the only way to the Father. We can learn about sin and its effects from Genesis to Revelation and that there is only one Perfect Sacrifice for that sin. So, what is it that keeps us from delivering that message to the lost people of the world today? It should not be that the Giver of the command has no authority because He has all the authority and no one has more authority than God. It must be that we are being disobedient as did Jonah and we are going in the opposite direction from what God told us to do. I have seen a plaque that reads, “There is no safer place to be than in the center of God's Will.” You know what they say about the Bible, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Praise God today that His directions are clear.