Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:05] And welcome to the weekday podcast. I'm Chuck Allen, and I'm so glad you've joined me today.
[00:00:09] So God comes to Jonah with a mission in the Old Testament. Simple enough, right? The new living translation puts it like this. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, announce my judgment against it, because I have seen how wicked it is.
[00:00:26] Okay, think about this.
[00:00:28] This is the whole thing right here.
[00:00:31] Go to Nineveh, preach, and you're done.
[00:00:36] But Jonah, like we do a lot, he runs not just away from Nineveh, not just away from God. He books passage on a ship headed to Tarshish, which is literally the opposite direction, as far away as you could possibly get in that ancient world.
[00:00:55] And suddenly, Jonah becomes the ultimate underdog. Not because circumstances happen to him, but because he created his own circumstances.
[00:01:04] He's in God's doghouse now, and he puts himself there.
[00:01:08] Ever been there? Have you ever been the underdog in your own life because of the choices you made? Dude, I have. And I mean, it's just no fun.
[00:01:17] Decisions might have seemed right at the time, but with they left you running from the very thing you knew you were supposed to do.
[00:01:25] Here's what I love about this story.
[00:01:28] God doesn't give up on Jonah. Instead, the text says, the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.
[00:01:40] God hurled a wound, active, intentional, restless, and relentless.
[00:01:48] Because sometimes God loves to just to look like a storm, because that's how he gets our attention.
[00:01:57] Sometimes God's faithfulness feels like opposition. Sometimes the very thing that seems to be working against us is actually for us.
[00:02:06] The sailors in the boat, they're terrified. They're throwing cargo overboard. They're praying to their gods. And. And Jonah, Jonah, he's sleeping in the bottom of the ship while everybody else is fighting for their lives.
[00:02:17] I find that fascinating.
[00:02:19] When we're running from God, we can sleep through other people's storms. We can become numb to the chaos that our disobedience has created all around us. But the captain comes and wakes him up.
[00:02:30] How can you sleep at a time like this? He says, get up and pray to your God. Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.
[00:02:38] Pray to your God. I mean, this sounds like the other day. Even a pagan captain recognizes that Jonah has a God, even when Jonah's running from that God.
[00:02:49] So they cast lots to find out who's responsible. And of course, the lot falls on Jonah, because you can run, but you're not going to hide from God. And Jonah, to his credit, tells the truth. I'm a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven who made the sea in the land. I worship the Lord who made the sea. I'm trying to cross to get away from him. The irony is just so beautiful. Jonah is running across the sea to escape the God who made the sea. And then Jonah says something overwhelming. Says, throw me under the sea and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault. The terrible storm is all my fault. Not bad stuff happens. Not life is difficult. This is my fault.
[00:03:30] Now that's the moment when a man made underdog takes responsibility.
[00:03:36] When we stop blaming circumstances and we own our own junk.
[00:03:41] So they throw him overboard. And immediately the sea becomes calm, the storm stops. The sailors are amazed and they offer sacrifices to Jonah's God. Even Jonah's disobedience becomes a part of a testimony. Even his failure points people to God.
[00:03:56] But here's where the story gets super cool. The new Living puts it this way. Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah.
[00:04:05] Four words the Lord had arranged. Paschence. God had this plan before Jonah ever hit the water. You see, God didn't send the fish to punish Jonah. God sent the fish to save Jonah. The fish wasn't Jonah's prison. It was his rescue.
[00:04:23] And for three days and three nights, Jonah is in the belly of the fish, alone in the dark with nothing but his thoughts and his God. Sometimes that's exactly where we need to be. Sometimes God's faithfulness looks like isolation. Sometimes redemption begins in the belly of the fish.
[00:04:39] And from there, Jonah prays. He says, I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble. And he answered me, I called to you from the land of the dead.
[00:04:50] And Lord, you heard me. From the land of the dead. That's what disobedience feels like, doesn't it? Like death. Like being cut off from life, from purpose, from everything that matters. But God heard him. And then, my favorite part of the story, the Bible says, then the Lord ordered the fish and it vomited Jonah onto the beach. Vomited. Not gently released, Vomited.
[00:05:13] Jonah comes up covered in fish bile, seaweed, and probably smelling like death. But he's alive. He's breathing. He's back on dry ground. And God says, get up and go the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message I've given you. Same message, same mission, same calling. You see, God's purposes don't change just because we run. God's faithfulness never wavers just because we're faithless. So if you're feeling like an underdog today because of some choices you've made, well, welcome to the rest of us.
[00:05:43] If you're in God's doghouse because of your own disobedience, remember Jonah did it. Remember that God's love is relentless. That God's faithfulness pursues us even when we're running the other direction. That sometimes the storm in your life isn't punishment, it's redirection. It might even be redemption. And remember that no matter how far you've run, no matter how deep you've sunk, no matter how long you've been in the belly of the fish, God's still calling your name, friend. God still has a message for you. God is still faithful to redeem you.
[00:06:17] Get up, he says. Go deliver the message. You're not disqualified. You're just redirected. I'm Chuck Allen, and thanks so much for listening in to today's weekday podcast and the story of Jonah. God bless you. Have a great day.
