Choose Challenge

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”  Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Jonah 1:11-15

Jonah tends to get a bad rap, but I think he’s like any other guy wrestling with how to handle a challenge. The documented circumstances were quite extraordinary, which is what most people remember. Big storm, giant fish, and a man sent to call a wicked city to repent. If you strip down the overall narrative, you have a very common story. God challenges a man and that man struggles with how to respond. In the upcoming year, God will challenge you.

The truth is that God chooses to include men in His work. Not just a few qualified men, every man. Jonah wrestled with what to do in response to God. Notice that God didn’t give an easy challenge and Jonah’s first response was to avoid responsibility. But to Jonah’s credit, he spoke up in the middle of the storm. As hard as it is to follow God, choose the challenge.

DO THIS TODAY: Ask God to reveal His challenge to you.