“Faith in unexpected places”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Jonah 1:1-17 (Forward, p. 74) CEV p. 939

In one sense, today’s account is quite hilarious. Here we have a prophet of the Lord thinking that he can run away from God, thinking that he can run away by sea from the God of heaven, the one, who by his own admission, made the sea and the dry land. Somehow Jonah misses out on one key factor, namely that such a God as his can obviously take charge over affairs and take decisive actions—and especially when disobeyed. Somehow he thinks that God will sit around and do nothing in the face of his disobedience!

And, we have a bunch of sailors who, by their own actions, obviously worship other gods. And, not only do they worship these gods, but they definitely believe that these gods have power and influence even within the ordinary affairs of people like themselves. And, they feel the same way about Jonah and his God!

And, when Jonah is woken up from his sleep and admits to who he is and what he has done, they finally, in desperation after trying everything else, pray to Jonah’s God for forgiveness for what they are about to do. And, after throwing him overboard at Jonah’s bidding and seeing the sea suddenly calm, they were terrified and offered a sacrifice to that self-same God and made promises to Him.

So here we have ‘faith’ in a most unexpected place, and faith not just in the sense of a set or system of beliefs but a real faith, an actual trust in God, a belief that has been put into action. Now how that faith has come to be, we may never know. So, the ‘trick’ here is to recognize that God has been at work in other people’s lives long before we happened to come on the scene, that somehow the Holy Spirit has been at work. Then the question becomes ‘how do we work with that and put ourselves in sync with its previous workings’: This requires an openness on our parts, a humility, a receptivity, and a willingness to listen and learn that has not always been present in so-called ‘believers.’ Canadian missionary, Don Richardson, in his important book, Eternity in Their Hearts, puts forth the idea that God has already been at work, and spoken, in every place and culture. Our job then, is simply to recognize that, and work with it. Amen.

Forward notes: “But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (verse 3a).

“The story of Jonah in the belly of the whale receives quite a lot of attention, but I find the beginning of this story fascinating. Jonah’s initial reaction to God’s instruction is to flee. It’s a compelling narrative—and such a human response! What happens to us when we’re confronted with a call for help? There’s a process I’m not proud to say that I go through. I review the situation, look at the time I have to respond, and weigh how involved I want to be.

“Maybe Jonah had the same mental conversation and decided that this was not a mission for him. He went so far as to try to remove himself from the situation physically. Yet, God was in control of all aspects of the situation. God was clearly determined that the people of Nineveh repent and that Jonah would be the messenger for such a transformation. I wonder how God continues to work in my life, especially when I’ve come to a conclusion contrary to God’s wishes. Thankfully, I haven’t needed a whale to help me change my ways. At least, not yet!”

MOVING FORWARD: “What’s your first instinct when you hear God’s call? To flee like Jonah or stay and proclaim the good news?”