When viewed with human eyes, Jonah is a bad example of a person God would use to preach His Word because when God said to Jonah “Go to Nineveh and cry out against it because of its wickedness, Jonah went to Tarshish”. (Jonah 1:1-3)
However, when Jonah eventually went to Nineveh and preached
against their wickedness, his message was so effective that people believed
God, fasted and put on sackcloth from the King of Nineveh to their animals. The king even decreed that everyone should turn from his
evil way and cry out to God. (Jonah 3:5-9)
This was a very great feat considering the fact that Nineveh was a very great city (Jonah 3:3) God also approved of their repentance for God relented from the disaster He had said
He would bring upon them. (Jonah 3:10)
So, Why was Jonah so Effective as a Preacher?
Jonah was an effective preacher because in addition to having the power of God moving in His life because he was doing what God had told him, Jonah preached what he had experienced.
Jonah Experienced and Preached Punishment for Sins
When Jonah disobeyed God, God caused a large storm in the
sea that he had to be thrown out of the boat he was using to go to Tarshish.
God then made a large fish swallow him and he had a
terrifying experience for 3 days since he equates it to hell for he called it the belly
of Sheol. (Jonah 2:2)
Jonah says he was cast into the deep, right into the center of
the seas and he was surrounded by floods and waves passed over him. He was
troubled to his soul for he says, “The
waters surrounded me up to my soul” (Jonah 2:5) and the situation was so
bad that he says “My soul fainted within
me” (Jonah 2:7) The deep also closed around him and weeds wrapped around his
head. He went down to the moorings of the mountains and the earth closed its
bars around him. (Jonah 2:2-9)
Jonah had therefore experienced the terrible effects of sinning against God because of his disobedience. He was therefore able to preach from his own personal experience what God could do to those who sinned against Him.
Jonah Experienced and Preached God Hearing Prayers
Jonah said, “I cried out to God because of my affliction and He answered me. Out of
the belly of Sheol I cried and You heard me.” (Jonah 2:2) He also said, “I remembered the Lord and my prayer went up
to You.” (Jonah 2:7)
He was therefore also able to preach from his own personal experience about God listening and hearing the prayers of those who had sinned against Him and prayed to Him.
Jonah Experienced God’s Forgiveness
When Jonah prayed to God, God told the fish to vomit him on dry land. (Jonah 2:10)
Jonah could therefore preach from his personal experience how God can forgive sin and avert punishment if people repent.
Therefore if God has called you to do something and you are wondering “Who am I?" that God should use me because of the mistakes you have made in your past, know that God knows what He is doing.
If you have cried out to Him in repentance like Jonah, God is able to use your experiences to enable you to preach an awesome message to people who are going through a similar situation.
Even if you do not consider yourself a perfect fit for the job God is calling you to do, know that God can make you fit perfectly into it by using your experiences.
Therefore do not disqualify yourself from doing the work that God has called you to do because God did not disqualify Jonah from going to preach in Nineveh after he repented of his sin.
If you have cried out to Him in repentance like Jonah, God is able to use your experiences to enable you to preach an awesome message to people who are going through a similar situation.
Even if you do not consider yourself a perfect fit for the job God is calling you to do, know that God can make you fit perfectly into it by using your experiences.
Therefore do not disqualify yourself from doing the work that God has called you to do because God did not disqualify Jonah from going to preach in Nineveh after he repented of his sin.
In addition, if your haters are saying that you cannot get the job done because of you went to Tarshish when God wanted you to go to Nineveh, ignore them because once you repent, God can use that "wrong experience" to mold you into the "right person" for getting the job done in Nineveh.
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