Seeking God in JONAH

“Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” JONAH 4:3

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man will meet his destiny either by running towards it, or away from it. Jonah had no appreciation whatsoever regarding the relevance of God’s calling for his life. He thought his mission was merely to notify the citizens of Nineveh of their impending doom. Not only that, he believed it was pointless! Just like Jonah, when the lord gives us an assignment, we often spin our thoughts trying to fathom His ultimate plan. We are so obsessed with control and carrying out our will that many of us get swallowed inside the metaphorical belly of a great fish.

And the Lord saw the repentance of Nineveh, and revoked the sentence He had asked Jonah to deliver. Is it strange that Jonah’s thoughts became suicidal? Jonah felt utterly useless, stripped from the pride of being right, at least. Once again, Jonah failed to grasp the big picture. His understanding, like ours, succumbed to the limitations of time and space. He thought his life was about himself. Do we not spend most of our lives chasing the wind, things that could vanish in a second? But praise God…our Lord works beyond our narrow perception, and turns even our private sorrows –in Jonah’s case, a withered gourd- into a beacon for all generations to see. God disregarded Jonah’s disobedient behavior, and know-it-all attitude. He poured His infinite love on this runaway, stiff man suffering from depression. Our Lord saw beyond his lack of compassion over the thousands of citizens that would have perished if He did not show mercy. Today, let us remember that God can use even a broken man like Jonah to bless millions of His children after him.