Jonah And The Lost Message Of Mercy Isaac Newton taught us that an object in motion tends to travel in a straight line and at a steady speed unless some force stops it. This, however, does not explain diffusion - a drop of dye in a cup of water tends to slowly diffuse until it is spread evenly throughout the entire cup. This is because instead of stopping when they encounter anther molecule, molecules tend to deflect away from each other. The characteristic of diffusion is found throughout nature. It"s also known as "browning motion." Such is the nature of the universe. Such is the nature of man.
Destination, not Judgment
Jonah 1:3-6 KJV 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
God used the storm to get Jonah"s attention. Jonah was not able to run from it as he had from his duty. The storm he faced caused him to come to terms with his sin of disobedience. Up to that point, he got it right, but there was more God wanted him to understand. What Jonah failed to understand was:
1)the storm was sent to change his heart as well as his course, and 2)his understanding of God"s intention was in error.
Like Jonah, we all encounter storms in our lives. Often times we come to interpret these storms in the same truth and error that Jonah did. Jonah rightly understood his sin but wrongly interpreted what God was speaking to him. To Jonah, God"s message was clear: "I sinned, and now God wants me dead."
Many people read the book of Jonah and see judgment when in reality we find a clear example of "browning motion." Like an "object in motion," Jonah was on a straight line for a destination that he had determined for himself. God intervened by placing "a mighty tempest in the sea." The tempest was not meant to "stop" Jonah but rather to reflect him back in the direction God wanted for him.
We can find numerous other examples of this in the scripture. Consider the life of Joseph.
God planned to deliver the Hebrew people out of slavery to Egypt some four hundred years after the death of Joseph. He planned to do it through the use of great plagues and wondrous signs, like the parting of the Red Sea. But, for this to happen, the Hebrew people must first be living in Egypt. God could have gotten the Hebrew people into Egypt through a variety of means, but He chose to do so through the life of Joseph.
Joseph was a spoiled and arrogant young man who bragged to his parents and brothers that they would all bow down and worship him as foretold in his dreams. Joseph interpreted the dreams to mean that he was sent on a course of greatness, but God placed an obstacle in his path that changed both his destiny and his heart. Joseph suffered the adversity of slavery and injustice that placed him in Egypt and cured him of his pride. His heart changed from one of pride and conceit to one of gentleness. Rather than gloat over the idea that his family would worship him, he developed a deep compassion and appreciation for his family. And the final result was that both he and the Hebrew people were positioned in Egypt exactly where God wanted them.
Unlike Jonah, Joseph both learned and changed as a result of his adversity. The storms they faced helped both Joseph and Jonah come to terms with their sin (i.e., Joseph had conceit while Jonah was disobedient), but only Joseph was able to grow from his experience and find a change of heart toward his brethren.
Jonah only got it partly right. He knew that the storm was from God. He also knew that God was confronting him with his sin, and he was able to come to terms with that sin. What he failed to understand was God"s intention. God sent the storm to change him, to help him grow, to alter his destination, not to kill him. If he had only considered the life of Joseph, perhaps he would have understood that the storm was meant to change Jonah"s heart toward Nineveh.
Like Joseph and Jonah, we are often traveling along toward our destiny when, out of nowhere, disaster strikes. We tend to see these storms the same way that Jonah did: they must be judgment from God. Sometimes this is the case. But where we often fall into error is in interpreting the storm the same way that Jonah did: God wants me dead.
If God wanted us dead, we would be dead. The fact that we are alive and merely suffering from adversity should tell us death is not what God wants for us. God is not sadistic. He receives no delight in seeing us squirm in pain. Therefore, when we encounter adversity through the storms of life, we must not conclude that God wants us to suffer in punishment. We must understand that what God wants is for us to grow. God wants us to change both in our heart and in our destiny.
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"Blessed is He who Comes in The Name of The Lord"
Destination, Not Judgement
