I bless you in the name of Jesus!
The actions we carry out daily in life, in one way or another, are guided by the decisions we make at the respective time.
We cannot move in life, but through constant decisions that we must make.
Every day we make decisions. Sometimes, these are simple decisions, such as: going to the mall or staying to study for an exam; But making a bad decision can get worse. And bad decisions have negative consequences.
God asked Jonah to do something that was very scary: he told him to go to a very large city called Nineveh.
"Get up and go to the great city of Ninive. Pronounce my judgment against her, because I have seen how perverse her people are."
Then Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to flee from the Lord. He went down to the port of Jope where he found a ship headed for Tarsis. He bought a ticket and embarked in the hope of escaping from the Lord.
Imagine what would happen if you appeared at a meeting of a rival soccer team and told everyone present that they are doomed!
Most likely they gave you a good beating, at least. However, God does not charge anyone to do things that are not correct. And when you ask someone to do something difficult, it always helps. What happens is that Jonah did not trust that God was going to help him. God wanted to use Jonah to save the inhabitants of the city, because he wanted to have a relationship with each person in that city and help them live well. But Jonah preferred to run away.
While Jonah escaped on a ship, God sent a strong storm to the ship he was sailing on. Everyone was very scared and thought the ship was going to sink. But finally, the sailors understood that Jonah had done something wrong and that he was to blame for that storm. Jonah had already told them that he was running from God.
The sea was increasingly angry, so they asked him:
"- What should we do with you to stop this storm?
Put me in the sea, '' said Jonah, and the calm will return. I know that I am the only one to blame for this terrible storm. Then they took Jonah and threw him into the raging sea, and instantly the storm stopped! Meanwhile, the Lord had provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he was in the fish for three days and three nights. "
And Jonah made a wise decision: he prayed to God and promised that he would do the right thing. Then the fish vomited him on the beach! Finally, Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed God's message. The one hundred and twenty thousand people in the city were saved!
Be careful when making a decision, and even if it is a message that comes from God. Avoid the negative consequences of your bad decisions and enjoy obeying God for valuable results in your life and in the lives of others.