Jesus said, “God is at Work”
I have always been taught to be a good worker. Often we miss out on the fact that the idea of work comes from our heavenly Father. In John 5:17, Jesus is clear that God (the father) and He are at work. As a matter of fact, the writings and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament are about the work he was doing. You better believe that Jonah saw the evidence of this in his life.
“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
– John 5:17
If you have listened to any previous episode of our series on Jonah, you know God had given Jonah an important task. A task that, quite frankly, Jonah did not want to do. So the solution that Jonah thought of was to run in the opposite direction. It is in the running of Jonah that we see God is at work in his life. Not only is God at work in jonah’s life, but we see clear evidence of God working in the storm. Check out what Nahum has to say about this.
God is at Work in the Storm
Nahum 5:17 states, ” The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Boy did Jonah learn that God has his way, and the sea quickly became stormy. Life is going to have storms. You may be facing a literal storm or a figurative storm. Either way, think about the work God is doing in your life.
The sailors on the boat had no idea why there were hitting this terrible storm. They were unaware that God is at work. Jonah knows that when this storm comes into his life, why the storm was there. God did not have to say anything with the mighty voice of heaven. God spoke to Jonah in the storm. We, too, put ourselves in dangerous situations. When the storm comes, understand that God is at work in you.
God is at work in you in the storm
Jonah was God’s chosen man, and yet he missed it. I believe that phrase describes all believers from time to time. We are chosen to do a task, and we will turn in the opposite direction. Romans 8:29 tells us that God is conforming us to be like his son. One of the signs of growth is God loves you too much to leave you like you are. Sometimes this comes in the storm.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
– Romans 8:29
The further you grow in Christ, we should expect growing pains. Paul tells the church they are babes in Christ and have envy, strife, jealously, and fighting and fussing all the time. Paul wrote this not to the secular people, but to the church. Just like storms in the church, it was God’s love that sent the wind in Jonah’s situation. God loved him enough to give him a way of escape.
Be sure to join us for the conclusion of the life of Jonah, by subscribing to Bear His Cross podcast on your favorite podcast provider.
