When Pigs Fly Week 1: Monday

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are." Read Jonah 1:1-2

My nephew recently began the first grade. When I asked him about his first day of school, he replied, "First grade is really hard." After listing all of the reasons why the first grade is really hard, he continued explaining, "Even though it was hard, I did it!" He is beginning to understand the importance of resiliency. He is learning not to run from something because it is hard. Life brings challenging things for us to walk through that are much more difficult than starting the first day of school, even though the first day of school can be very scary for a first grader. Sometimes in our lives, like He did with Jonah, God calls us to do things that seem incredibly hard. Sometimes what He calls us to do feels risky or requires sacrifice. The question is, how will we respond? Will we walk through the difficult things God asks us to do and obey, or will we run?

The book of Jonah begins with God giving Jonah a very difficult instruction: "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are" (Jonah 1:2). This was indeed a complex and challenging command. You see, any God-fearing Jew would not have wanted to go to Nineveh. The Ninevites were known for their cruelty. They were wicked. They disliked the people of Israel, and they were not following God. This was a dangerous instruction because the Ninevites could harm Jonah if they were angry with him for what he said to them. Instead of obeying God's command, Jonah disobeyed. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah got on a boat headed for a different city: Tarshish. Scripture teaches that He went on this boat sailing to Tarshish, "hoping to escape from the Lord." Jonah disobeyed, stuck between a rock and a hard place when given an impossibly hard command. He was utterly unwilling to obey this instruction from God. Because of his disobedience, Jonah faced the consequences. God caused a great storm on the water while he was on a boat heading toward Tarshish. Disobedience led him nowhere good. Even today, disobedience takes us places we never intended to be.

It is easy for us to rush to judge Jonah. He was a prophet! God told Him what to do! How could he get away with his disobedience? Before rushing to judgment, put yourself in Jonah's situation. Would you go to warn evil people known for their cruelty about God's judgment, or would you let fear stop you? Even more, have you ever disobeyed God when He called you to do something hard or difficult? Maybe you have openly disobeyed God's instruction due to fear, anger, or unforgiveness. We often rush to judge Jonah, but we might have easily made the same mistake he did. Instead of judging Jonah, let's learn from him and let his story lead us to confession and repentance. May we acknowledge our disobedience and choose to walk in the opposite direction.

Moving toward action

Is there something hard that God is currently calling you to do? Maybe He is calling you to share your faith with someone, and you are unsure how they will respond. Maybe He is calling you to make a difficult decision you have been avoiding. Maybe He is calling you to serve, and you feel unequipped and nervous to give any more time that already feels short. Your call today is to acknowledge the hard thing that God has been leading you to do. Tell a small group member or trusted friend. Ask them to help walk with you to have the courage to take the first step in doing that difficult thing. Acknowledging the thing that God is calling you to do that you have been avoiding is the first step toward obedience.

Going Deeper

Jonah 1:1-12