One day the LORD told Jonah, the son of Amittai, to go to the great city of Nineveh and say to the people, "The LORD has seen your terrible sins. You are doomed!" Instead, Jonah ran from the LORD. He went to the seaport of Joppa and bought a ticket on a ship that was going to Spain. Then he got on the ship and sailed away to escape. But the LORD made a strong wind blow, and such a bad storm came up that the ship was about to be broken to pieces.
Jonah 1: 1 - 4
The city of Nineveh is in today's news as well. It was located inside the limits of Mosul, Iraq.
Before God sent the great fish to swallow Jonah, He sent the storm!
When God gives you a direction for your life and you run away from Him, you can expect a storm! When Jonah ran away from God, the Almighty did whatever it took to bring Jonah to his senses. That included letting Jonah be swallowed by a great fish and then be vomited up on the shore!
Going to Nineveh was no small task. It was more than 500 miles from where Jonah got on the boat, and it was in the opposite direction from where the boat was going!
One lesson we learn from the life of Jonah is this: The storm in your life may not be an attack of Satan. Rather, it may be brought on by God Himself to get you turned around and headed back in the right direction. And even if you find yourself in the “belly of a whale” don’t give up while calling on the Name of the Lord to save you! The most important lesson from the life of Jonah is this: When God tells you to do a thing, set your heart, mind and yes, your feet to do it, no matter what it is! Just do it!
“Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom and courage to be obedient to the leading of Your Spirit today no matter what it is You tell me to do! May You Jesus be praised forever. Amen.”
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