Runaway Fish Prophet, Part 5

The sky was so blue.

Jonah laid on his back on the beach were the great fish had vomited him.

The sky was just so, so blue.

There was a gentle wind, and something within his soul stirred. He knew this feeling. Jonah could already feel the fire burning within him.

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you."

The word of the Lord.

For the second time.

Jonah looked out to the ocean. The waves rose and fell, before finally coming to rest near his head. He had a choice. He could obey God this time, or for the second time, he could ignore His word.

And suffer the consequences.

Jonah stood up, and brushed the sand off his arms. He started walking up the small incline to the nearby road. God sure picked a convenient spot for the great fish to vomit him. The road led straight into the city of Nineveh.

"I promised I would do your will this time, Lord."

Based on Jonah 2:10-3:3

Second chances. We all love them. We are unbelievably thankful for them. Without second chances and God's unending mercy, we would be in a lot of trouble right now. 

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord basically gave Jonah a message of doom for the city of Nineveh. Jonah didn't obey God the first time, and ended up in the belly of a giant fish. Then he repents, and God calls him again. 

Why?

Despite the gray, cloudy message of doom and gloom, God's ultimate goal was that the city of Nineveh would repent and be saved. So he was patient with Jonah's pigheadedness, and He gave him another chance. 

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

God gives us second chances all the time because of His love and mercy for us, but also so that "all should reach repentance." He has great patience. He doesn't zap us for our foolishness because if He did that...well, we are all so foolish that there might not be anyone left. 

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Now, let's take our second chances, and do something good with them. Let's use them to show God to others. So that no one should perish.

V. Joy Palmer