Are you in Tarshish or Nineveh?

Is there anything that you have paid fare to just so you can be away from the presence of the Lord today?

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By Robin Sam

LOVING greetings to you in the Name of our God who said: ‘Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin’ (Ezekiel 18:30).

June is children’s New Year. We need to earnestly pray for our children who are entering the portals of educational institutions with new hopes and resolutions. We need to pray, according to the Word of God, that our children will indeed be taught by the Lord and great should be their peace (Isaiah 54:13). We are bound to pray for them that they will successfully complete their education, be gainfully employed and be children of light wherever God has established them. We should not forget the fact that whatever we are today is because of the grace of God and the prayers of our parents.

I praise God for giving me the opportunity to share with you a few things He spoke to me about the life of Jonah when I was reading the book a few days ago.

When the word of the Lord came to Jonah, he did exactly the opposite of what God expected him to do. From Joppa, Nineveh was only 550 miles away but since he had no plan to heed the voice of God Jonah took a ship to Tarshish which was 2500 miles away from the sea port of Joppa. We may be doing things several times harder than what God had commanded us to do, but if we have not yielded ourselves to the will of God we may be pounded by great storms just like those Jonah had encountered.

‘But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down’ (Jonah 1:3).

Is there anything that you have paid fare to just so you can be away from the presence of the Lord today? You may give yourselves a clean chit on this. But remember that TV, that smart phone and that computer that bears the time-wasting social media apps that robs your time and prevents you from reading the Bible, praying and communing with God are the ships that you have paid fare to so you will go to Tarshish and not Nineveh where God wants you to be in. I am not against news disseminating platforms but there should be discipline, caution and a regulation in their usage. Sadly, there is not much difference between the programs that the so-called Christians watch and the ones the unbelievers enjoy.

‘But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep’ (Jonah 1:5).

When it looked as if the ship would break in the great wind and the mighty tempest that raged in the sea, the mariners cried out every man to his god but Jonah, the child of God and the servant of the Lord who made the sea and the dry land was fast asleep in the lower cabin of the ship. Jonah’s hard-heartedness prevented him from crying out to God even in that life-threatening situation.

Is it any wonder that those who pay a fare just so they would be away from the presence of the Lord are not even aware of the acute danger that they are in?

If, like Jonah, you have not yielded yourself to God’s will even after knowing it well, I beseech you to submit yourself in the presence of the Lord. Do not forget that your peace can only be found in His will and your wellbeing is assured only in His hands.

Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24).

Your peace and guidance is only in the presence of the Lord. Do not run away from it, but teach yourself to run towards it.

‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10).

May God bless you through this message! Amen.

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