The Lord Provided

“Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.” (Jonah 3:3, NIV 1984).

My Musings – Last we saw Jonah he had “[run] away from the Lord...and sailed for Tarshish.” But a “funny” thing happened on the way.

A Great Wind – “The Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” (Jonah 1:4, NIV 1984).

Man Overboard – “They [sailors] took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” (Jonah 1:15, NIV 1984).

A Big Fish Story – “The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17, NIV 1984).

A Case of Indigestion – And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2:10, NIV 1984).

A Second Chance – “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.'” (Jonah 3:1–2, NIV).

This time, he obeyed and went.

My Advice – Apparently fish are more obedient than people. But fortunately, our God is a God of second chances. “The third time [Jesus] said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.'” (John 21:17, NIV 1984).

Peter too had run away. Not exactly a profile in courage. But Jesus forgave and reinstated him. The result? “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV 1984).

The Lord is persistent. He will send circumstances into our lives to redirect and provide the means to get us back. After all, He provided the ultimately sacrifice. But we must respond and cooperate.