Suffering well

Jonah 1:1–3 (NASB 95)

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Examine / Explain

Jonah was a prophet and he received a word of God about the Ninevites. But because of Jonah’s own personal feelings toward the Ninevites he disobeyed and ran from his assignment. He tried hiding by going in the complete opposite direction.

What’s the application?

We are called to do hard things. Our opinions and preferences don’t matter when we receive an assignment from the Lord. And we are always on assignment. That assignment could be “sit still and wait for Me.” or “Go and I will show you the way.” We may be required to deliver words of encouragement or words of truth that will cut like a sword. Words that separate bone and marrow. The point is to be obedient. How am I doing? Am I building sand castles to rule and reign over or am I submitting to the will of a Holy God? In our humanity, we will flip-flop between the two. I hope that more often I would submit than try saving myself. I fear that too often I want to do things my way. “I have the better way of accomplishing what you’re doing.” So instead of submitting to the authority at hand, I pack up, shut down, and leave because I don’t want to do it your way. The amount of pride a man can have doesn’t always display itself in an arrogant boastful way. I believe I can even come across as a humble person to others. But on the inside, I know there is pride and determination in wanting things to happen my way. I want to feel in control of every situation, and I can’t. I have to submit and sometimes be thrown overboard to get that message. I think we all do. We lie to ourselves that we are in the “right” when we are actually in the wrong. It takes a splash and some solitude for a couple of days to get our minds right. It may take a storm around us for others to see what I am avoiding. It may even take a non-believer to speak into our lives to get us to wake up and take action on our assignment. The sooner we submit the sooner we are right with God. The sooner we can sacrifice our pride and follow Him.

What’s my response?

Dad, I want to suffer well. In our attempts to run from You, we are trying to avoid the pain of life. We don’t want to feel the discomfort of truth so we hide ourselves in an attempt not to suffer. But the life of a believer should be about living in the uncomfortable and suffering well. It’s about doing the hard things in life while still having joy and peace. Not that we are happy in every moment but that we have a grasp on our eternity. And while earthly living has temporary pain there is an eternity of peace ahead of us. The hardest most tragic thing we could ever endure is nothing compared to You. Being in Your presence for all of eternity’s future. Help me suffer well. Help me sacrifice my pride. Help me live a life worthy of my calling and assignment. Amen.