Have you ever felt called to do something for the Lord but hesitated? Not because you did not want to do the task but because you were afraid? All the what-ifs swirl around in your head, and you doubt your ability to successfully accomplish the task.
When Jennifer called for people to help with the blog, my what-ifs were, "What if my written words are misinterpreted? What if no one likes what I have written? What if I'm just doing this out of pride?" I almost didn't send it. I deleted the email twice before I sent it. This got me to think about Jonah.
How many times did Jonah hesitate to go to Nineveh before God had a whale swallow him? Jonah got on a boat to go in the opposite direction that God wanted him to go. God caused a storm, and no matter how hard the crew tried to get back to land, the storm kept the boat at sea.
Tossing and turning on the boat, the crew asked, "Who brought us this evil?" Jonah knowing it was him, told the crew to throw him overboard. When this was done, the sea became calm, and the crew could go to land.
A great fish swallowed Jonah for 3 days and 3 nights. He was in a continual state of drowning and had the seaweeds wrapped around him. I imagine he was in the dark, unable to move, when God asked him (Jonah 3:2) to go to Nineveh again.
How often do we hesitate to do the Lord's bidding and put ourselves in a dark place where we no longer feel the presence of the Lord as we once did? When all we need to do is come to him, praise him, and ask for grace, then go forth doing God's task so that he can bless us for being faithful.
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." Jonah 3:2
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