What Jonah Learned about Circumstances

“How to know God’s will” is something I have heard discussed many times. Usually three or four points are given, and in practice normally these would agree.

(1) Find guidance from God’s Word, at least determine that the proposed direction is not contrary to what is taught there.

(2) Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, speaking to the inner heart about the direction to take.

(3) Seek counsel from Christians with proven wisdom who may be able to affirm or alter the course.

(4) Determine whether the circumstances contribute to the anticipated direction.

When these factors are aligned, one can usually move ahead in confidence. To illustrate: a pilot who is landing at night lines up the aircraft with the runway, guided by rows of lights. He/she would not dream of attempting to land in a direction that cuts across the safe path indicated by those markers. In the same way, one should anticipate trouble if any one of these four aspects of guidance is way out of line.

Jonah in the Bible, Jonah of whale-dinner fame, did not want to preach a message of warning in Nineveh as God asked him to. He knew in his heart what direction to take, but apparently he asked no one else’s advice about the conflict. He did, however, find that all the circumstances pointed in the direction he had already decided to go.

He went down to the port, and lo and behold! a ship was there, headed for Tarshish—the opposite direction. A good sign—right? Luckily, the sailors were friendly, and luckily they happened to have room for a passenger. Jonah had funds for the fare—luckily. It looked like everything was in his favor, so he must be on the right path. He got on board and the ship set sail. Soon, however, a violent storm developed, and the boat was about to be broken up. The desperate sailors began to throw cargo overboard trying to lighten the load. And where was Jonah? In the lower part of the ship, fast asleep. So he must have an easy conscience. He must be doing the right thing.

Certainly not! You probably know what happened next. Jonah, admitting his own fault, was thrown overboard and the sea calmed. A great fish swallowed him, and the prophet lived among—um, whatever “whales” eat over the course of three days. Eventually, the fish vomited him out on dry land. Eww!

There’s more to the story—read the book of Jonah—but my point is this: What happens in our surroundings or to us personally is only one of the ways that God guides us. Choosing our own way and making the circumstances back us up or even just taking the way of least resistance is not likely to end us up where we want to be. It may not be in a fish’s belly, but probably somewhere just about as nasty. When you need guidance and you’re looking around to see what might work, remember Jonah!

MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com