View Site Map

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1:13 ESV

The Lord told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh, but instead Jonah set out for Tarshish, which was in the opposite direction. After he boarded a ship, they sailed into the ocean and were caught up in a terrible storm. The sailors threw Jonah overboard in order to save themselves, and after spending three days and nights inside of a custom fish hotel, Jonah was happy to go to Nineveh.

One of my teachers once saw a used car that he really wanted to buy. While at the dealership he prayed about it and felt that the Lord said, "No." He walked around the lot and called his wife to pray with her, and she said that she did not feel right about it either. After walking around the lot again, he decided that he really just wanted that particular car. He went to the car and prayed about it again and heard very clearly, "Yes! You NEED this car."

So he bought it and happily started home, but on the way the engine oil light came on. He stopped at a service station and filled it up with oil and resumed his trip, but soon the light came on again. To shorten this up, the car ended up sitting in his driveway with a blown engine while he made payments on it for the next two years.

If you try and twist Gods arm to give you what you want, you just might get it. Listen to the Lord the first time and avoid the fish hotel experience. He knows what is best.