The tragedy of an unwilling heart

THE BOOK OF JONAH begins with the rebellion of the prophet against God. Unwilling to submit to God’s plan led him to flee from God. Jonah boarded a ship going in the opposite direction from Nineveh.

Jonah seemed to have the wishful idea of getting far away from God. A prophet who had a mission at hand tried to find a way out of a responsibility that he considered distasteful. Can we ever run away from the Lord? Surely not! I remember, as a MYFer I was singing “O, sinner man where will run to? Run to the sea, the sea won't hide me … ”

An unwilling heart soon meets an unexpected storm! The journey that Jonah chose brought near disaster not only to him but also to all those sailors on board that ship heading for Tarshish. Faced with the life-threatening storm even those pagan sailors understood the need to call upon their gods to calm the storm. Not Jonah – he had hardened his heart and was fast asleep at the lower deck. 

Are life’s storms a means for us to return to the Lord? How do we deal with unexpected responsibilities that come into our planned lives whilst knowing of God’s love and power? Responding negatively is to harden our hearts against God and this is the greatest tragedy of our relationship with God.

Jonah chose death over obedience to God. He told the sailors to throw him into the sea to save their lives. Was this Jonah’s attempt at suicide? Then it was a terrible tragedy indeed! We cannot seek God’s love on our own terms. God had to show Jonah that what He needed him to do was more important than his fears. After three days in the belly of the big fish, he was literally spat onto the shore of Nineveh where he preached God’s message for repentance.

A willing heart; a heart that beats for God, will never come to a tragic end. God always displays His absolute, yet loving guidance, to those who do not run away from Him. 

The Rev James Nagulan is the President of Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference.

QUOTE:

“How do we deal with unexpected responsibilities that come into our planned lives whilst knowing of God’s love and power? Responding negatively is to harden our hearts against God and this is the greatest tragedy of our relationship with God.”