God of the Second Wind Heroes of Faith. The Conclusion of Jonah's Heroic Faith (Part 3 Episode II)

Well, my readers, I am calling this post "The Conclusion of Jonah's Heroic Faith." His heroic faith in knowing who God is and preaching to Nineveh made Nineveh come to know the God of the Second Wind. Yes, Jonah made huge mistakes, and we should learn from them they are written down for us so we can learn from them and not fall into the same sulk as he did (Psalm 102:18, Romans 15:4, & I Corinthians 10:11). With all of his foolishness, he still had heroic faith. God used his faith to change Nineveh and us. Enjoy the conclusion of Jonah's story let it be of great comfort, conviction, and challenge meant for you to be more like Christ. I will be using the Message Bible this time as my reference to the Scriptures.

Jonah 3:1-5 1-2 Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” 3 This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God’s orders to the letter. Nineveh was a big city, very big—it took three days to walk across it. 4 Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.” 5 The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.

In these first five scriptures, this is what we can learn and apply to our lives. The Lord never gives up on us He continues to speak with us time and time again. He continues to give us a chance after chance to choose to do the right thing by following Him. The Lord's standard and will does not change. He still wants us to reach out to the people He has called us to reach. Just do it, it so much easier than saying no or delaying. The motto from Nike Company comes to my mind "Just Do It!" Jonah was in a "Just Do It!" situation and he did. I have learned that if you act in faith and do what the Lord is leading you to do; it will always lead to a good result, maybe not the result you want, but a good result will come forth.  Jonah obeys and brings the Lord’s message to Nineveh. Because of Jonah’s obedience in bringing the Word to Nineveh they heard it and became saved. God always does something when we are obedient to Him.

Jonah 3:6-9 6-9 When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up off his throne, threw down his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat down in the dirt. Then he issued a public proclamation throughout Nineveh, authorized by him and his leaders: “Not one drop of water, not one bite of food for man, woman, or animal, including your herds and flocks! Dress them all, both people and animals, in burlap, and send up a cry for help to God. Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”

You don't know the impact that your obedience has on those who are listening to you or watching you. Jonah’s message brought the city of Nineveh to repentance to God. Nineveh's response is so great that the King orders everyone including the animals to participate in the fast and repent to the Lord. All creation will worship the Lord. This action teaches us to continue to ask and seek God about all matters because just like the King said: "Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” We never know what the Lord will do. Nineveh chose to believe the words of Jonah they did not assume that they could not be saved. No, they said let's seek His forgiveness. Nineveh had hope and faith that He would not destroy them but saved them because they repented of their ways. The King of Nineveh has another great line he says "Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands." What a great line by him! Each of us has violent ways that stain our hands to remove the stain we must come and receive the stain remover which is Christ's blood. Through Christ blood, our stains are removed. The next words spoken by the King are fulfilled in Christ. "Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”  Asking for forgiveness and rerouting our ways makes God change His mind about us He does not see sin, failure, disappointment, or any other blemish of sin. He sees Christ He sees acceptance, victory, satisfaction, fulfillment, and every other thing that is in the identity of Christ. When we turn and leave our bad attitude, character, and morals and embrace God's He lets us live! Not only does He let us live in this life, but also in the life to come wow wow wow.

Jonah 3:10 God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn’t do.

We never know what the Lord is going to do. What we do know is that when we respond to Him something great and miraculous happens to us, in us, through us, and around us. Ephesians 3:20 (The Message) "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us."

I know many Christians I as well forget that there is a fourth chapter in Jonah. If Jonah's story was a fairy tale, I believe it would end in chapter three. Why? Everyone repents, Nineveh becomes a worshipper of the One True God Yahweh. Jonah is happy that he obeyed God and that people responded to his preaching to have a relationship with God They all lived happily ever after. That is how it should end right? But not so. Jonah chapter 4 is overlooked by so many Christians including myself. To me, though it is the most important chapter of the four. Chapter 4 is the climax of the story. It junctures God's Grace is for us literally at anytime we need it.

Jonah 4:1-2 1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!

God is "sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!"  Just let those words sink in and renew your mind.

Jonah 4:3-5  3 “So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!” 4 God said, “What do you have to be angry about?” 5 But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.

I see this playing out in my life, and other Christian lives we see others getting a blessing we have received, or they have gotten it before us. God asks us this question "What do you have to be angry about?” The answer is nothing. We cannot compare the two blessings they are similar, but they are different. The blessings are working differently in each person's life. For example, marriage is a tremendous blessing from the Lord that is a similar blessing for many individuals to experience, but the success of each marriage is different for each couple it is cherished by the uniqueness in their lives separately. We should celebrate that and not sulk in another's person success especially when they are saved by the Lord.

Jonah 4:6-9 6 God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.

Even in Jonah's and our sulky state God chooses to be"sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!" Life is always looking up when we see and experience God's grace and mercy in our lives. Enjoy God's grace and mercy in your life be pleased with it. But do know it is for others to enjoy as well, and be pleased with it when grace and mercy enter into their lives.

Jonah 4:7-8 7-8 But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!” 9 Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?” Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!”

Really? Jonah said that to the Lord? We all have said stupid and meaningless words to the Lord when we do not see the bigger picture the Lord is trying to make us see. The next time you are angry about a situation ask yourself "what is the bigger picture that I do not see here?" The Lord will show you just like He did Jonah.

Jonah 4:10-11 10-11 God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”

The book of Jonah ends with a thought provoking question and reminder of the core of God's heart and feelings. That God's primary heart and feelings are to show His grace and mercy to all and saving as many as He can, as the scripture say "God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change" (2 Peter 3:9 The Message). His grace and mercy are even thought of, and for the animals, our God does care about saving all creation because He loves all of His creation. Chapter 4 teaches us that we need to celebrate others coming home and not be frustrated when they do. It is a time of happiness celebrating the dead coming to life. Have the outlook of the prodigal son's father not the prodigal's brother. His father celebrates this wonderful time of him coming home the brother was upset for the celebration of his return (Luke 15:20-32 Read in the Message Version it puts it really well). The ending of the book of Jonah reminds us to have God's heart, motives, feelings, and sight for all no matter the state they are in. If you would like to have this grace that the Father gives through Christ just say, Jesus, I have faith in the work you did on the cross. Thank you for saving me in Jesus name we pray amen! Start going to church, meet other Christians, and start reading The Bible daily and you will grow greatly in Christ.