My First Cinematic Experience
Do you remember the first movie you ever saw in the movie theater? Maybe it was the original Star Wars with the loud music and scrolling text taking you to a galaxy far, far away. Or perhaps it was Indiana Jones, and you were convinced that the giant boulder was going to come off the screen and flatten you like a pancake. My first cinematic experience was not quite a classic, but I can still remember the looks and sounds of…..Jonah: A Veggie Tales Story.
Jonah is already a unique story from Scripture where God gets the attention of a man by allowing him to be swallowed by a fish. Now, picture that story, but instead of people, we have talking vegetables. It really brings the story to life.
The story of Jonah is one that carries a lot of different meanings and messages. The one that has always stood out to me was the fact that Jonah truly thought he could run from God. As a child watching that movie, I remember thinking how ridiculous that was. I mean, it’s God… omnipresent.
Jonah 1:1-3
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “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.
The really sad thing is that something so clear to me as a child became much harder to live out as an adult. Throughout my life, I’ve heard the voice of God, time and time again, and still chosen to “run” in the opposite direction.
Maybe it was someone in need, and I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to reach out. Maybe it was a simple encouragement I knew I should text, but didn’t. Or perhaps it was a big life decision God told me to wait on, but I moved ahead anyway because it’s what I wanted.
The reality is that we all have a tendency to lean or even run away from the leading of God in our life. What has often been confusing in the story of Jonah is that God allowed it, sort of.
Jonah 1:15-17
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.
It would be easy to look at Jonah being swallowed by a whale as a judgement from God. I mean, that's a pretty rough picture. I definitely do not want to experience that any time soon, but I think it is actually a picture of God’s grace, not only with the Ninevites but also Jonah.
You see, God’s plan doesn't need us. We GET to partner with Him to carry out His plan. Jonah was the benefactor of God using him to save an entire nation. The cool thing is that He has a plan for us as well, to partner with Him to carry out His vision and plan in our life. Even in the times we stray from His leading, He graciously brings us back by getting our attention. Hopefully, He doesn’t have to go as far as sending an animal to swallow us up, but I guess that may depend on how quickly we course-correct.
The beauty is that like the song from the movie says, “Our God is a God of second chances.” How will you use it?
Respond:
When are times when you have “ran” from God’s leading even slightly?
What is something God has used to bring you closer to Him?
How can you lean into God’s voice rather than run from it?
Jonah is already a unique story from Scripture where God gets the attention of a man by allowing him to be swallowed by a fish. Now, picture that story, but instead of people, we have talking vegetables. It really brings the story to life.
The story of Jonah is one that carries a lot of different meanings and messages. The one that has always stood out to me was the fact that Jonah truly thought he could run from God. As a child watching that movie, I remember thinking how ridiculous that was. I mean, it’s God… omnipresent.
Jonah 1:1-3
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “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.
The really sad thing is that something so clear to me as a child became much harder to live out as an adult. Throughout my life, I’ve heard the voice of God, time and time again, and still chosen to “run” in the opposite direction.
Maybe it was someone in need, and I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to reach out. Maybe it was a simple encouragement I knew I should text, but didn’t. Or perhaps it was a big life decision God told me to wait on, but I moved ahead anyway because it’s what I wanted.
The reality is that we all have a tendency to lean or even run away from the leading of God in our life. What has often been confusing in the story of Jonah is that God allowed it, sort of.
Jonah 1:15-17
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.
It would be easy to look at Jonah being swallowed by a whale as a judgement from God. I mean, that's a pretty rough picture. I definitely do not want to experience that any time soon, but I think it is actually a picture of God’s grace, not only with the Ninevites but also Jonah.
You see, God’s plan doesn't need us. We GET to partner with Him to carry out His plan. Jonah was the benefactor of God using him to save an entire nation. The cool thing is that He has a plan for us as well, to partner with Him to carry out His vision and plan in our life. Even in the times we stray from His leading, He graciously brings us back by getting our attention. Hopefully, He doesn’t have to go as far as sending an animal to swallow us up, but I guess that may depend on how quickly we course-correct.
The beauty is that like the song from the movie says, “Our God is a God of second chances.” How will you use it?
Respond:
When are times when you have “ran” from God’s leading even slightly?
What is something God has used to bring you closer to Him?
How can you lean into God’s voice rather than run from it?
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