“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams.” I Samuel 15:22

I love the story of Jonah! I have felt just like him, many times. I’m sure you have too. God told Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh, and “cry against it!” Nineveh, modern-day Mosul, Iraq… they were worshiping the goddess Ishtar. Jonah did not want to do this; he was afraid. So, he thought he could “flee from the presence of the Lord!” Really, Jonah? Where would that be?

He paid his ticket, got on the boat, and thought that “God wouldn’t find him!” We cannot “run” from the presence of the Lord! The Lord caused a great storm to come, and it “almost broke the boat!” The sailors decided, “somewhere here is the cause of this.” The lot fell upon Jonah so, they tossed him into the sea!

Now listen to this… “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish (a whale) to swallow up Jonah!” You know the story… Jonah spends three days “in hell” in the belly of the whale, tossed to and fro with all those stinking fish guts, and seaweed wrapped around his head! Finally, after Jonah prayed and repented, the whale “vomited him out on dry land.”

For the second time, God said, “go and preach to Nineveh,” and Jonah did. Sometimes, we cause things to happen in our lives simply because we “disobey the Lord.” Isn’t it better to “listen to that still small voice” and just “obey?” Have a great day and “look out for the whales!”

Sherry