Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Instead of going to Nineveh to preach the Word, as God bade him, Jonah disliked the work, and went down to Joppa to escape from it. There are occasions where God’s servants shrink from duty. But what is the consequence? What did Jonah lose by his conduct? He lost the presence and the comfortable enjoyment of God’s love. When we serve our Lord Jesus, as believers should do, our God is with us. Although we have the world against us, if we have God with us, what does it matter? But the moment we start back and seek our own inventions, we are at sea without a pilot. Then may we bitterly lament and groan out, “O my God, where have You gone? How could I have been so foolish as to shun Your service, and in this way lose the bright shining of Your face? The price is too high. Let me return to my allegiance, that I may rejoice in Your presence.” In the next place, Jonah lost all peace of mind. Sin soon destroys a believer’s comfort. It is the poisonous upas tree, from whose leaves distil deadly drops that destroy the life of joy and peace. Jonah lost everything upon which he might have drawn for comfort in any other case. He could not plead the promise for divine protection, for he was not in God’s ways. He could not say, “Lord, I meet you with these difficulties in the discharge of my duty, therefore help me through them.” He was reaping the fruits of his own seed, filled with his own ways. Brethren, do not play the Jonah, unless you wish to have all the waves and billows rolling over your head. You will find in the long run that it is far harder to shun the work and will of God than to at once yield yourself to it. Jonah lost his time, for he had to go to Tarshish after all. It is hard to contend with God; let us yield ourselves at once.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 03:24:39 +0000