Listen

The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.)

Jonah 3:1-3

Think

Can I be real? I don’t love being told what to do. I have a comically immediate, internal rebellion when I am given a command, even if it’s something I want to do! (Like when my dad tells me, “Call your mom.”)

Honestly, I empathize with Jonah, even if he is famous for saying “no!” to God’s call. Okay, he did more than say no: he ran from God. But no matter how hard he tried, Jonah couldn’t outrun God. God loved Jonah and had a purpose for Jonah. God patiently told him a second time. “Get up and go to Nineveh.”

When I’m not all in for something I feel God calling me to do, this story is important. It gives me space, so that if I feel like saying no to what God is calling me to do, I let myself feel that way. It’s okay. Even if we want to stubbornly cry “No!”, we can always trust that God loves us and will never give up on calling us to our purpose.

Jessica Tidwell-Weinzierl

Pray

God, sometimes you call me, and I am not ready to listen or ready to go. Help me to remember that it’s okay to be honest with you, because there is no place I can go where your love and presence can’t follow. Thank you for your patient love that is always with me. Amen.

Go

You are a child of God, deeply beloved, and you have great purpose in God’s kingdom. Go, and do what is yours to do, in the love of Christ, our Redeemer! Amen.