Repercussions
If only Jonah knew that his decision between him and God would reverberate the way it did. I don't know. Maybe he did know in his heart, but didn't care or didn't believe it. Regardless, his running away from God had far greater consequence than just the ones he would personally experience. Because of his decisions and actions, he ended up putting an entire ship and its crew in perilous danger - not to mention all of Nineveh was counting on him (whether they knew it or not.)
I wonder if Peter knew? If he didn't, he found out quickly that his "Yes" to God would have a widespread, profound effect on many, many people around him. Because he chose to run with God, and rest in His Shadow (Psalm 91), that Shadow overshadowed his own and directly touched others. Peter may not have even been aware of some of the people he had an impact on. I mean, who keeps track of their shadow that closely?
I can think of modern day cases, too. I think of Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom. She was a woman who refused to stop hoping, refused to stop believing, refused to give up on a God that is Good. She held onto Jesus, knowing that He was holding on to her. The repercussions of her relationship with God and resolution to run with Him has touched countless people. It very well could be that some people have made decisions to follow Jesus, simply because they witnessed or heard of Corrie's faith in action.
But then there are the sadder cases - like the pastor who decided that he had had enough of this and willfully turned his back on God. Did he realize the consequences - not just on his own life, but the lives around him, like his children, his congregation and his wife? Did he not realize or just not care? He would be kidding himself if he thought that his decision was only going to affect his own life. No man is an island. And you can't remove a Body part without the whole Body feeling it.
So, what about you? What about me? Which direction are we running? Are we in stride with God? Or are we purchasing that ticket, like Jonah did, and going in the opposite direction of where God is headed? One thing is sure - whatever the decision, its repercussions are resounding - whether good or bad.
The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon's Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord - crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles' work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the village around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits and they were all healed.
Acts 5:12-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/act.5.12-16.nlt
I wonder if Peter knew? If he didn't, he found out quickly that his "Yes" to God would have a widespread, profound effect on many, many people around him. Because he chose to run with God, and rest in His Shadow (Psalm 91), that Shadow overshadowed his own and directly touched others. Peter may not have even been aware of some of the people he had an impact on. I mean, who keeps track of their shadow that closely?
I can think of modern day cases, too. I think of Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom. She was a woman who refused to stop hoping, refused to stop believing, refused to give up on a God that is Good. She held onto Jesus, knowing that He was holding on to her. The repercussions of her relationship with God and resolution to run with Him has touched countless people. It very well could be that some people have made decisions to follow Jesus, simply because they witnessed or heard of Corrie's faith in action.
But then there are the sadder cases - like the pastor who decided that he had had enough of this and willfully turned his back on God. Did he realize the consequences - not just on his own life, but the lives around him, like his children, his congregation and his wife? Did he not realize or just not care? He would be kidding himself if he thought that his decision was only going to affect his own life. No man is an island. And you can't remove a Body part without the whole Body feeling it.
So, what about you? What about me? Which direction are we running? Are we in stride with God? Or are we purchasing that ticket, like Jonah did, and going in the opposite direction of where God is headed? One thing is sure - whatever the decision, its repercussions are resounding - whether good or bad.
***
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God
of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:1-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jon.1.1-17.nlt
But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God
of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:1-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jon.1.1-17.nlt
Acts 5:12-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/act.5.12-16.nlt
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