Thought of the Day 10.06.08

Whenever I read the story of Jonah, I’m always struck by his bitterness toward the Ninevites. His hatred drives him to disobey God in the beginning and then to be furious with God in the end. But there’s something even more surprising in this story which is so easy to miss.

In focusing on Jonah’s flaws, we usually forget to ask the fairly obvious question, “Why was Jonah disobedient?” Simply put, Jonah disobeyed God precisely because of his tremendous faith in God. He knew that God was merciful, and he knew Nineveh didn’t need to hear a preacher to deserve destruction.

So he knew that the only reason to send him there was bring salvation. And Jonah further knew that God would only send him there if it was going to work. So the very reason Jonah disobeyed God was because he had such absolute confidence both in God’s mercifulness and in God’s effectiveness

Say what you will about Jonah, the man had tremendous and accurate faith in God and His character.