I Was Just Like Jonah One Day.

 Jonah 1:1-3 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah....saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

• Jonah Wasn't Interested In His New Job Assignment  

God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh and preach. Why wouldn't a prophet want to go and preach? This was a major part of their job description. 
 
Was Jonah afraid of the people?
 
After all God said, "Their wickedness has come up before Him." No, Jonah wasn't afraid of them. That wasn’t the problem?
 
Jonah believed the people of Nineveh would repent. What?
 
You heard me correctly. He didn't want this job assignment because in his mind if he preached the people of Nineveh would repent, if they repented God would forgive them and he didn't want them to be forgiven.
 
WOW!  

• The Time It Happened To Me 

I was just like Jonah one day. Please forgive me when I tell you this but I experienced a similar situation while in the ministry.
 
I was asked to go to a prison and visit a convicted child molester by a family member who was a member of the church.
 
I DID NOT WANT MY JOB ASSIGNMENT. I was like Jonah.
 
I didn’t want to go visit that person in prison. I was like Jonah.

I will tell you this I did go but it took me allowing the Spirit of God to work on my spirit because my flesh didn’t want to visit that person. 

• What About Your Experience? 

When was the last time you weren't interested in your new job assignment?
 
Maybe your assignment was from God, your parents, your spouse or your employer.
 
You know you should do it but the only thing on your mind is running from your obligation. 

• So What Is A Person To Do When Faced With This Type Of Situation? 

1. Do Some Introspection. What has been going on in your life? Have you been sick or stressed out in other ways? When we're tired we have a tendency to allow things to bother us that usually never do. Do yourself a favor and get some rest. 
 
2. Don't Make Any Hasty Decisions. One of my favorite passages of scripture is "And it shall come to pass..." What you're going through has a life span and it'll be over before you realize it.
 
3. Do Your Assignment With The Best Possible Attitude. Remembering that everything we do is to bring glory to God.
 
Can you imagine how difficult it would've been to listen to Jonah's messages?
He would have been preaching with an attitude and not a pleasant one, I might add. The scripture says he was angry.
 
Jonah 4:1-2 - But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.  

• God Wanted The People Of Nineveh To Change 

God was giving the people of Nineveh a chance to hear His Word and repent.

God has given us a chance to hear the Gospel and repent. He also wants us to give other people the opportunity to hear the Gospel and repent.

• Have You Ever Had A Job Assignment You Didn't Like?

I am quite sure we all have had a job assignment that we didn't like doing. The next time one arises in your life try to remember this Pump Up.

God always wants us to be the best we can be especially when doing job assignments we don't like.
 
In what ways today does God want us to change so that we can be like the people of Nineveh?

Think on This:
 
When looking for faults use a  mirror, not a telescope.

The man who thinks he has no faults has at least one.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word