Lessons on leaving the Lord
By Don Squires, Pastor
Temple Free Will Baptist Church
Jonah 1:3-10
Have you ever left something behind? We can learn valuable lessons from Jonah as we study how he left the Lord.
I. Aspirations
Jonah, a prophet of God, aspired to know God’s way until he left the will of God to go to Tarshish instead of Ninevah. He left his aspirations.
II. Obligations
Jonah was the only man on board the ship who knew God. He was the only person who could lay hold of God — and he was asleep. He had left his obligations.
III. Communications
Jonah would not listen to God, so God had to speak to him through the storm and through the sailors. He had left his ability to communicate with God.
IV. Reputations
Jonah concealed his identity from the crew of the ship. They did not recognize him as a man of God. He had left his reputation.
God sent the storm as a sign that He was not finished with Jonah. Some of us blame the storm experiences of our lives for difficulties we face, when all the while, it has been a loving Father calling us back to Him.