More Like Jonah Than I Want To Be

I am Jonah.

It’s not a very flattering idea to think about, but it’s true.  Like him, I need to be saved, rescued out of my own foolishness. Like him I am created to do good works that God has planned out for me. Like him my ministry can be half-hearted, reluctant, and just plain broken by my own sin. Like Jonah, I don’t always have eyes to see who needs to hear of the mercy of God. Like Jonah I am too quick to jump on the judgment wagon and fail to celebrate lavish grace. Like Jonah, my love of comfort can trump the needs of other people.

But also like him, God continues to pursue me, continues to use me in spite of me, and continues to reap His own glory through my slipshod ministry efforts.

Jonah is a story of God pursuing broken people in ministry positions. It took an unearthly storm, a near drowning experience, and being swallowed by a big fish for Jonah to call out to God in prayer.

Jonah 2:7-8 (AMP) says, “When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness.”

This right here is where I want to be wholly other than Jonah.  What will it take for me to call out to God in prayer? May it be the slightest need, the gentlest nudge. If it is anything less than that–I’m the one who misses out.  The last line of those verses says that I turn away from my living source of mercy and lovingkindness.  And why would I want to live five minutes without that?  What grace could have been mine today if I had prayed like I breathe?

That is a sobering question, but this question fills me with hope.

What grace could be mine tomorrow if I live in a pattern of remembering and prayer?

After Jonah’s hard-hearted response to Nineveh’s repentance we’re never told if he turns again to God in prayer and repentance.  But my story doesn’t have to be Jonah’s story.  Right now I can pause, ask God to help me to pray like I breathe, so I can stay continually connected to my living source.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

    and your faithfulness by night,” Psalm 92:1-2.