Jonah. I woke up this morning thinking about Jonah.
Actually I have been struggling with something for over a week now.....and this morning it came to me that the situation was much like Jonah's story.
And, no, it's not so much the part about being swallowed by the whale.
There's two parts to the story. Both begin the same way. God says to Jonah: "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer."
That's God telling Jonah very specifically what He wanted done.
For some reason, Jonah didn't want to do that. So he got up on his feet....jumped on a boat....and headed off in the opposite direction. It's one of the most well-known stories in the Old Testament. To save the ship from the storm sent by God, Jonah went overboard and was swallowed by a whale.
Truth is, the storm was sent to get Jonah's attention....to bring him back to God....to save him from himself.
Sure, Jonah was close to God. He was a prophet and there was no doubt he could hear what God was telling him. And this time, my guess is he thought he was "helping" God out.
You know, thinking "ok so God wants me to go and preach somewhere. He said Nineveh....but if Nineveh is good than Tarshish will be even better. The people there aren't as bad so they are more likely to hear what I am saying & besides I can do somethings I want to there....and I can't in Nineveh. God won't really care WHERE I go...just as long as I go SOMEWHERE".
That's not really disobedience....it's smart....it's practical....it's negotiating a Win-Win.....with God....
Yeah, right....that didn't go so well for Jonah....God's not really interested in negotiating a Win-Win.
Has God ever asked you to do something SPECIFIC...right down to the last detail? God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and to tell the people He was tired of their wicked ways. He even gave Jonah the words.
So I am thinking....if God says go there....and here's exactly what I want you to say....that should be a lot easier than the times God tells me to do something that I have no idea how to do....expecting me to do it on faith....trusting that He will take care of the details as we go along.
Wonder why Jonah has such a hard time with that....doing exactly what God asks him to do exactly the way He tells him to do it?!?!
Jonah hears God's request....and sets off to do it "his way". And hardship follows. This time God puts insurmountable obstacles in Jonah's way to get him turned around & back on course.
In my life, sometimes God just lets me wander off in the wrong direction for a long time before the consequences of my bad choice becomes totally apparent to me.
So the whale swallows up Jonah. God gets his attention. And God says let's try this again:
"Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer."
The direction was exactly the same as the first time. Obviously God was serious about Jonah doing this very SPECIFIC thing in EXACTLY the way He told him to in the first place.
Outstubborned by God.
So Jonah goes on down to Nineveh and does exactly what God asked him to do. And he was a big hit....experienced overwhelming success....or so the story goes. The people of Nineveh heard the word of God and turned from their evil ways. And God smiled on them.
Wow! How cool is that?!? God tells Jonah exactly what to do....he finally does it.....and lives are touched....a difference is made...
That's not exactly how Jonah saw it, though. He was pissed. And he stomped off to find a quiet place to sit & pout while He waited to see what God was going to do next.
God decided to allow them to live...to not destroy them.
Now Jonah was really angry....because God didn't do what He said He would do...in the end....He changed His mind. At least, that's how Jonah saw it.
Actually, I am not sure that God ever told Jonah what He was going to do....He simply told Jonah what He wanted Jonah to do. And Jonah put his own spin on the whole thing....
Jonah never really believed that those people would change....somehow Jonah thought it was just God pulling his strings....he would go and tell 'em what God said....and they would go about their business....and God would take 'em out....and even if they did say they'd change, it would be too little too late...God would punish them anyway....
So once again God would have His way with Jonah....toy with him....& for what?!?!
Jonah never really considered what the positive outcome might be....he never saw the BIG picture....he was too busy thinking about himself....and how put out he was that God had asked him not once....but twice....to go do something so specific....and so insignificant.
And even though the story doesn't tell us what Jonah's goals were....his attitude & behavior indicates that doing this one thing for God wasn't really getting him any closer to things he wanted out of life....it was a major imposition....Jonah was really putting himself out for God this time...
Jonah had himself all worked up over the whole thing. Then God did what He does best. He forgave the people when they repented. That's the happy ending that makes the whole trip worthwhile.
Right? Wrong! Not to Jonah.
"God did exactly what He wanted to....He didn't need me" Jonah fumes. "So what's the point....really....other than me jumping through hoops for God....this is really all about HIM controlling ME....it really has nothing to do with those other people & their lives...nothing at all."
Jonah was confused and really angry now. Afterall, these were some really BAD people....they deserved to be annihilated.
So how dare God not do what Jonah thought He should do in the end?!?!
*Sigh* Me and Jonah....we have a kinship.
The thing that's been troubling me....it's still troubling me. I am not really sure what to do about it. I guess I am waiting for God to give me the words....to tell me exactly what to say....
And maybe it's something that God is working out on His own....
If God gives you a vision....or asks you to do something specifically....than do it....exactly the way He tells you. Don't try to take God's idea and adapt it into something else. Don't kid yourself into thinking you can improve God's idea.
God has it all figured out...and whatever He has in mind is far greater than anything you or I can dream up or do on our own. He doesn't need our "help"....honest....He doesn't.
And most likely, God's idea of success is going to be radically different from our own.
It's easy though....to convince ourselves that really God just wants us to do what He asks generally....like Jonah decided that God wanted him to preach but it didn't have to be Nineveh if he liked somewhere else better.
And that it's ok with God if we do it "our" way....instead of following the specific gameplan He has provided us. We're here....on the playing field, afterall....& God is in heaven....might not be such a clear view from there...
Even when you are sincerely trying to go where God wants you to go....it's easy to get turned around....offtrack....especially when it's a journey that takes a long time. It's important to remember exactly what God's specific charge was at the beginning.....and to continue to look to Him for validation every step of the way.
Just because God wants something done DOES NOT mean that we can't screw it up. Sure, in the end, if it's what God wants it will come to pass.
That doesn't mean that our actions....our choices....won't have consequences....and there's no guarantee that what we are hoping to gain from the experience....whether it's rewards or recognition....will be given to us in the end....by default....when we finally get around to doing it His way.
God is faithful. He never changes. Negotiating a win-win wasn't an option with Jonah....it's not going to be an option with us either.
Doing it my way. Deciding for myself what the outcome will be. Focusing too much on my efforts...on what's in it for ME....thinking it's possible to manipulate God's plan in such a way that I get what I want AND He gets what He wants....
That is not a roadmap to success.
Being all about me will probably find me pouting on the sidelines in the end....God will get what He wants....and I will be angry because God didn't do what I wanted Him to do....
Just like Jonah.
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