God"s yes is louder

The sea was getting rougher and rougher.  So they asked him [Jonah], “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”  “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm.  I know it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”- Jonah 1:11-12

In Chapter 8 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg concludes his discussion of four reasons that hold us back from saying “yes” to God’s open door.

4.  Our sense to guilt or inadequacy may hold us back.  When Jonah decides to stop running, he thinks his story is over due to his mistake.  As Pastor Ortberg states, however, “God’s yes is louder than my no.”  But Jonah’s “no” is pretty loud, for he tells the sailors to throw him overboard.

To the reader’s amazement, the sailors don’t do it.  Apparently they have more compassion on Jonah than Jonah had on the people of Nineveh.  John points out there’s an important lesson for us here:

“You have to be really careful about judging who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, who is on God’s side and who is not on God’s side.”

Before the sailors tossed Jonah overboard, they invoked Yahweh’s name three times in prayer.  The ship of Tarshish became God’s temple.  God’s story is so big, it’s also about Tarshish.  Jonah thought he’d thwart what God wanted to do.  Just as with Jonah, God is at work in our lives in ways we can’t even begin to dream of.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, how has God’s yes been louder than your no?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Going down”

God"s yes is louder

Ships of Tarshish

“After paying the fare, he [Jonah] went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”- Jonah 1:3

“Sometimes it’s hard for a prophet and a profit to coexist.”- John Ortberg

Today John Ortberg discusses the second reason that holds us back from saying “yes” to God.

2.  Having other options holds us back.  Pastor Ortberg notes that it’s a big deal that Jonah paid the fare.  Normally, bartering was used in the ancient world and money was tremendously scarce.  Money gave Jonah mobility and options.  Money made it easier for Jonah to think he could run away from God, because he had options.

Options are problematic for us as well.  John recalls that when he was in seventh grade, he had the option to befriend a girl in his class that no one sat next to at lunch or chose for their team.  Although John’s social status wasn’t as low as the girl’s, he ran to Tarshish, unwilling to sacrifice what little social status he had.

In Jonah’s day, Tarshish was a city of great wealth and a pioneer in trade.  “Ships of Tarshish” became a symbol of wealth, self-sufficiency, and greed- a delusion of security.  Jonah thought he was running to safety, but it really wasn’t safe at all.  John comments:

“Maybe the only safe place is to be in the will of God for your life, even if it means choosing the door to Nineveh, that scary place you don’t want to go.”

Today’s question: When has having other options been problematic for you?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Pay attention”

Ships of Tarshish

The Jonah complex

“I am very brave generally, but today I have a headache.”-Tweedledum, Through the Looking Glass

“Be strong and courageous . . . for the Lord your God will be with you.”- Joshua 1:9

In Chapter 8 (“The Jonah complex”) of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg notes that we long for open doors, yet resist going through them.  Abraham Maslow called this perplexing tendency “the Jonah complex.”  While we admire people who give a wholehearted yes to God’s call on their lives, such people also make us uneasy, anxious, and confused.

Greg Levoy refers to Jonah as “the patron saint of refused callings.”  In Jonah’s story we see all our evasions of God’s calling reflected back to us.  Pastor Ortberg discusses four reasons why we’re tempted to hold back.  The first reason is presented today.

1.  Fear holds us back.  Nineveh was hated so much that the prophet Nahum referred to the city as “the city of blood.”  Nineveh was hated not just for cruelty, but for endless cruelty (Nahum 3:19).  Unlike Nahum, who made his proclamation while safely in Israel, God sent Jonah to speak to the Ninevites face-to-face.  Jonah not only didn’t go through God’s open door, he ran the other way, implicitly in fear.  John comments:

“Sometimes open doors are not fun.  Sometimes they’re not safe.  Always they’re about something greater than our own benefit.”

Avoidance never overcomes fear.  The antidote to fear is God’s presence.

Today’s question: Have you experienced “the Jonah complex” when faced with an open door?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Ships of Tarshish”

 

 

The Jonah complex