God won't let you down

Have you ever been set up for a letdown? Picked up to be put down? Remembered to be forgotten? Spoke up to not be heard? Or just plain old counted in only to be counted out?

So is the life story of many of the people of God but especially one saint of God in particular whose name was Jonah.

Jonah has been called 'the rebellious prophet', 'hardheaded Jonah', 'disobedient Jonah', 'stubborn Jonah', 'selfish Jonah' and yes 'wayward Jonah'.

Be it as it may, the life of Jonah is a true reflection of the lives of many a child of God today. Headed in the wrong direction, our stubborn will refuses to let us turn around. Regardless to the circumstance, we just keep reaching for the wrong stars and falling into the same old traps. Even I have found myself trying to reach a goal which I set for myself instead of pressing on to the prize which God has already set before me. Then we cry out, God why don't you hear me? God why don't you answer my prayers? Such was the case of poor old Jonah.

The first thing God said to Jonah was "Go to Nineveh that great city and cry against it" (Jonah 1:2) PREACH REPENTANCE! Commissioned with a task, Jonah refused to obey. Envisioning the outcome, Jonah used poor judgment and boarded a ship going in the opposite direction. Jonah knew within his heart of hearts that God would spare the city of Nineveh.

Poor old Jonah! Verse 3 says that Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah tried to willfully and purposely run from God. Jonah thought to himself, 'why should these wicked people be spared? Why should they who have defiled God's temple, killed God's prophets and rebelled against God's laws be recipients of God's grace and mercy now?'

Look at Jonah allowing bitterness and hatred to govern his life. Look at Jonah being stubborn, hardheaded and selfish. Instead of letting love, truth and righteousness reign supreme in his heart, Jonah allowed a spirit of malice to corrupt his thinking. We all must learn to let the love of God reign in our hearts. We must live a holy and righteous life, pleasing to God so that when we are called to do a task, not only will we be ready but our hearts will be ready as well.

So Jonah pays the fare, boards the ship, lies down and falls asleep (vs. 3-5). Let's add another title to the yet extensive list of names given to Jonah. Let's call him 'carefree Jonah'. Jonah was destined to flee from the presence of the Lord and God was determined not to forsake Jonah or to let Jonah down. Th at's the way it is for some of us. We are destined to run from the plan of God. We are destined to do things our own way. We can be stubborn, hardheaded, rebellious, selfish and carefree, just like Jonah. But God is yet determined never, ever to let us down.

God sent a storm in the sea to bring Jonah back to his senses. But old 'carefree Jonah' was fast asleep.

The men of the ship asked Jonah. What does all this mean? Call upon your God so that we will not perish. All the men of the ship tried to come to Jonah's rescue but it was Jonah's advice that they eventually heeded. Jonah said to them 'take me up and cast me forth into the sea and the sea will be calm for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.'

The men tried to bring the ship to land but when they could not they took Jonah and cast him into the sea and the sea became calm just as Jonah had said. Verse 17 says "now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3 days and 3 nights.

In the midst of the fish, Jonah cried out to God. Misery began to hold Jonah captive. Adversity surrounded Jonah on every side. Jonah had been swallowed up alive by his own selfish pride. Now faced with the possibility of sudden death and separation from God forever, he cried out in agony.

Jonah said---'out of the belly of hell cried I. Lord you have cast me into the deep, in the midst of the sea. Thy billows and waves passed over me. The waters compassed me about, even to my soul. The deep closed around about me, the weeds wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottom of the mountains ... yet thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.'

The Lord heard Jonah's cry indeed. He spoke to the fish and it spit Jonah out on dry land. Now ready to take the Word of God seriously, Jonah arrives in Nineveh, which was a 3 day's journey, in 1 day. Jonah said to the people of Nineveh, 'in 40 days, Nineveh will be overthrown'. Jonah preached a message so powerful that the whole city repented in sackcloth and ashes.

Jonah was not surprised when the people repented. Jonah was not shocked at all when they put on sackcloth and proclaimed a fast. Jonah already knew the outcome. The people repented and God saw their works. God saw them turn from their evil ways and He repented of the evil that he had planned for Nineveh. Well, we have called him 'selfish Jonah', 'stubborn Jonah', 'carefree Jonah' and 'hardheaded Jonah'. Now let's call him angry Jonah.

Look at Jonah getting angry because he didn't get his way. Look at Jonah getting angry over a plant that sprung up over night and was struck down in one day. Look at Jonah getting angry at God for caring about the lives of sinful men, instead of being angry that over 120,000 souls would have been destroyed otherwise.

Maybe your life's story does not read quite the same way as Jonah's does. Maybe your life did not go in the same direction as Jonah's did. But truly and honestly, I believe we all can say that somewhere along the way we were drowning, sinking, being swallowed up by life's disappointments and heartaches and sometimes even our own selfish pride. The worry of life wrapped around our head until making a right decision was no longer an option. We have been afraid of failures, afraid of being alone or afraid of stepping out by faith. We have felt that Jesus was much too far away and we thought that, this time, I am going down to rise no more.

But just in the nick of time, God pulled us up. God...