When it comes to purpose and placement, no one can do a better job of it than God. He knows exactly what everybody should be doing at what time and place. When we think of carving out our own space by ourselves we run several risks. God sent Jonah to go to Nineveh to proclaim His word there. For some personal reasons, the prophet felt that he would rather go to Tarshish. The consequences of that self-appointed mission were grave indeed. A mighty wave was sent by the Lord which rocked the ship and put everybody’s life in danger. Jonah himself suffered the indignity of being swallowed by a huge fish which was equally sent by the Lord. What an irony here – a fish obeyed the Lord to punish the disobedience of the prophet!
“It should be a daily desire of God’s children to influence their world positively. This would be enhanced by obeying God duly and in designated places.”
The opposite of this can be seen in Paul’s journey to Rome. He also was in a ship sailing on troubled waters. The difference was that the wind was an elemental display of nature, and his journey was ordained by the Lord. He had received an express word from the Lord that he would witness of the resurrection of Christ at Rome. Rather than becoming a threat to the lives of the mariners as Jonah was, Paul was their saviour. His intervention through a word from the Lord brought all the souls to shore safely. The import of our meditation today is that our lives impact others. The impact could either be positive or negative. Jonah’s impact on the people in the ship was negative; but that of Paul was positive. It should be a daily desire of God’s children to influence their world positively. This would be enhanced by obeying God duly and in designated places.