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Now Yahweh's word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. Jonah 1:1–3 WEB.

The Lord told Jonah to go preach to the city of Nineveh. Yet, Jonah set out for Tarshish, which was over 2,500 miles away from Nineveh in the opposite direction. Jonah planned to get as far away from Nineveh as possible. So he bought a ticket in Joppa, boarded a ship, and set sail. But soon after leaving, they were caught in a terrible storm. The conditions grew worse until it began to look like the ship would sink, so they threw the cargo overboard.

When all their hope was gone, Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the sea so they would be spared. They didn't want to, but the storm grew even more violent. So the sailors threw Jonah overboard, and he spent three days and nights inside a custom fish hotel that the Lord provided. After this, Jonah was happy to go to Nineveh.

A mentor of mine once saw a used car that he really liked. It was a cute little red Chevrolet Vega. While at the dealership, he prayed about it and felt that the Lord said, "No." So he walked around the lot a few minutes, then called his wife to pray with her. She said she felt something wasn't right about that car. He prayed about it again, and he heard, "No." Three times he prayed about buying the vehicle. Three times he heard "No."

He walked around the car lot some more. Then decided that the little Vega was the car that he really wanted. So he went back to the car, laid his hands on it, and prayed once again. This time he heard very clearly: "Yes! You NEED this car."

So he bought it and started home, but soon, the engine oil light came on. He stopped at a service station and filled it up with oil, then resumed his trip, but the oil light came on again. The car ended up sitting in his driveway with a blown engine while he made the payments on it for the next two years. The car was a lemon, and the Lord had wanted to spare him from it.

The Lord knows what is best for us if we will only listen. If you try and twist God's arm to give you what you want, you just might get it. The prodigal son's dad gave him his inheritance early, but it didn't go well. The Lord told Adam and Eve, "Don't eat that." So be honest with yourself and listen to the Lord the first time. You can avoid the fish hotel experience that Jonah had.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to see past the natural and learn to trust You in my decisions. Speak to me in a way that I understand, and give me the grace to be obedient. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.