What's God Telling You?
by Rob Cahilog
written by Ashley Petallano
Jonah was given a message by God to go to Nineveh and
tell them His message for them
Nineveh was capital of Assyria. Assyrians were intense
people, villagers would kill themselves knowing that Assyrians would invade
their land. Women were raped, men were skinned and buried in the ground. People
of war. Plus, Israelites did not like Assyrians.
They were sworn enemies.
Jonah was to go and tell them that what they do are
wrong and that they need to repent from their ways. It didn't seem like a good idea in the first place. It must've been like you being sent to meet with ISIS
people saying that what they do is bad and share the gospel to them. You wouldn't want to go either!
As expected, Jonah's heart wasn't set for the mission. Rather than obeying the Lord, he went the opposite direction. Imagine it this way: it's like you being sent to share the gospel in Tondo but instead of going there, you choose to share it in the US. Jonah disobeyed the commandment and headed to Tarshish.
But no one can run away from the Lord. We all know what happened next:
God disciplined him and was thrown from the boat and was
swallowed by a big fish. Inside the fish, Jonah realized his mistakes. He prayed
to God and despite all the hardships he went through, we learned that He was
still focused on God and His character. And so, after spending three days and three nights in
the belly of the fish, Jonah repented of his sin and God ordered the fish to
spit out Jonah on dry land.
The rest of Jonah's adventures rest in the third chapter of the book:
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.
Jonah 3:1-3
God is a God of second chances. Jonah, despite his blunders, was given another whirl by the Lord. God said to Jonah, “Go” and he obeyed. This was a tough assignment for Jonah, knowing that he
can be killed. But despite this knowledge, he chose to finally say YES to the order of his Lord.
How can one experience the AWESOMENESS of the Lord then?
You can see it if you yourself obey Him a hundred percent!
We have to ask ourselves right now: What is God telling me to do? Probably, most of us are being prodded by the Lord to do something for His good work: share the gospel, bring a friend to church or continually pray for someone. We are a Jonah to the people around us, to our circle of
influence. God saved us so that we can share the Gospel to those who don’t know
and have a personal relationship with Jesus yet. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:18
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
As Christians, we're not to be like secret agents where people are terribly shocked to discover that we follow Christ. Be very warned when your friends think that you're not the very example of a Christian. We should not be ashamed of Christ or His Word. In fact, we should be loud and proud. We boast of His grace, of how He gave us second chances though we do not deserve it. And because of this, we should also be sensitive in heeding His voice.
God is probably telling you right now, join in the
campus movement. Or it might be something as simple as coming back to Him.
WHAT IS GOD TELLING YOU TO DO TODAY?
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:4-5
Jonah must've been a nervous wreck on his first day on the job. Again, keep in mind that he was given a difficult task: tell the people of Nineveh that they will perish because of their sins. He must've been scared of the possibility of them throwing him out or hurting him for the message.
But by His power, the people listened to Jonah and immediately repented of their sins. God used Jonah and his experience with the fish to minister to these lost people.
This tells us that our obedience to God despite our hurts and trials can impact other people's lives in ways we've never imagined. See how Jonah's experience worked well with the Lord's message? Even the king of Nineveh (see Jonah 3:6-9) was deeply impacted.
Despite their power and influence, the people of Nineveh were broken and empty. They were in desperate need of the God. Some of us might know people who are like them- they act all tough, knowing and confident but deep inside, they need the grace of the Lord.
The fact that God sent Jonah to Nineveh was also His act of grace towards them, wherein He wants
them to know of the wrong things they do and may turn away from it. This is
God’s heart towards men. In our case, God’s heart
wants for us to come back to Him. If God doesn’t care about you, then the Bible shouldn't exist. We wouldn't be able to talk to Him through prayer.
Jonah managed to deliver the message of the Lord with his experience. The Gospel was shared to Nineveh.
How about you?
Who's/What's your Nineveh?
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