OPPOSITE DIRECTION
JONAH 1

In every failure to move in His direction there will be a passage that leads to a self destruction. God given direction is not to be taken for granted. Also, God given direction should never be approached with carelessness. In His direction, there is no excuse of not following through to the end. When the Word of God came to Jonah, it was a direction for him to arise and go to Nineveh. Nineveh had turned onto great wickedness and God in His goodness and mercy, wanted to use Jonah in ministering salvation to Nineveh. Have you received any direction to your least expected area? God is not a careless God and neither is He a God that will overlook disobedience. The Bible recorded in Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Tarshish was in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Jonah’s move was in the opposite direction to God’s command. Jonah got the command from God and he decided to move outside of God’s command by responding to the dictates of his heart. The Word of God stated, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) In his act of disobedience, he positioned himself for great disaster. Jonah’s decision was not only a threat to him, but it was dangerous to all the people around him. Jonah 1:4, “But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.” Jonah’s decision to go in the opposite direction brought a storm when there was no storm. Are you experiencing any form of sudden storm in your company or on your ground? Could it be that you have taken an opposite direction in your response to God’s calling? It could also be evidence that a Jonah has entered your ground. Taking the opposite direction away from the Word of God is not always the right way for a believer. It does not matter how long you have been getting away by taking the opposite direction, but it matters where it will take you to when a storm rages without a warning signal. Ask God for His mercy in all of your decisions today.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God and my Father, You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Help me O Lord with the grace that makes man to be constantly obedient to Your command.