Jonah 2:9-10, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”
The moment that Jonah repented (changed his thinking) and told God that he would pay that he had vowed, the Lord caused the great fish to drop Jonah off at the next whale stop! I love a joke that Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold told, about Jonah being down in the mouth...lol. I like that. I don't know about you, but reading this true story about Jonah motivates me to want to obey God sooner than later. Perhaps we can get out of the whale's belly today rather than tomorrow. That's not to say that all suffering and problems in life are sent by God to teach us a lesson or compel us to do something, but since we usually don't know why we suffer in any particular situation, I'd rather play it safe and just be humble to obey God right away.
We see a similar situation with Job. Job's friends were brutal in their critique of him. Job 16:1, “Then Job answered and said, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?” Job's friends falsely accused him of not being right with God for the calamity in his life. They said if it wasn't Job, then it must have been his children that sinned, because God doesn't let bad things happen to the righteous. Literally, that is the horrible way they were thinking. They were very wrong.
Job's sincere friends rationalized that bad things don't just happen. Job's ten children were all killed by a tornado. His servants were killed by thieves. His wealth was gone from fire and burglars. Job's wife became bitter toward God. Job became diseased with painful boils from head to toe. His friends said it was all Job's fault, and his family's. How would you respond toward friends like that? Most people wouldn't have been their friend anymore. But read how Job responded in Job 42:10, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” When Job prayed for his horrible judgmental friends, God ended Job's calamity.
Again, I am compelled from reading this true story to please God right away. I am going to pray for my former spouse with love in my heart, even though she horribly abandoned and divorced me in 2006, devastating me emotionally, financially and ruining my life. We will never be remarried, but I love her in Christ and pray for her. I buy her anything she asks, because I believe it is how God wants me to treat her. She has never apologized for anything, she blames other women. Like Eve, she blames others, but not herself. But that is God's department to judge, not mine. What saith the Scripture? ...
Romans 12:19-21 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, he suffered inexplicably for the next 20 years. Joseph has every reason to hate his 10 half brother's guts. They were the sons of Leah. Joseph was the son of Rachel. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Joseph could have despised them, but look how he responded in Genesis 50:18-21, “And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” Wow! I love that.
Dear reader, I have shown you three living examples in the Word of God of saints, who after being through inexplicably traumatic ordeals, honored the Lord by exemplifying His forgiveness and love toward those that deeply hurt, afflicted and wounded them to the core. Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” I love Job's attitude. Job said even if God killed him, he was going to still trust Him. May we be as faithful as Job. Job 19:25, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” Matthew 8:26, “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Do you know that your Redeemer liveth? I do! Jesus exclaimed in Mark 11:22b, “Have faith in God.”
When Jonah made things right with God, he was freed from his captivity. Jonah evidently had made a vow to God, to go preach the Gospel to Nineveh, but then he reneged on his vow. What saith the Scripture? Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” The Bible says happy is the man who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
That was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. They had vowed to sell some property and donate the money to the church, but then for some reason reneged on their vow, keeping back part of the money. They lied to God. I once heard Pastor Jack Hyles mention in a sermon that $100,000 of money was never paid, which church members had vowed to give to the ministry a year earlier. Dr. Hyles was a good guy. He often co-signed for church members. I heard him once say that he had to pay $15,000 in money from loans that people never repaid, which he had co-signed for. Brother Hyles never once mentioned the matter to the people who didn't repay their debts, because he loved them and didn't want to lose them as church members. That is a godly man and a loyal friend!
From reading all these Scripture passages, and there are many more in the Bible, it is clear to me that the way we respond to suffering affects how God responds to us. When Jonah cried out to God with a thankful heart in the belly of the whale—proclaiming that SALVATION IS OF THE LORD, and he vowed to repay his vow—God responded by letting him go.
When Job prayed to God for his horrible friends—those who kicked dirt in his face while he was at the bottom of life, suffering in pain, lonely, miserable and mourning the death of all his beloved children—God turned away Job's captivity. My blessed reader, if you want to please God during your trials, tribulations and suffering—HAVE FAITH IN GOD!!! Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Unshakable faith comes from having our faith shaken!
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