Responding to God's Call
Jonah 1:1
"Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,"
When you study the Scriptures, you will find that God's call came to His people in many different ways. Just like God's call came in different ways, you will also find that His people responded in different ways. Some responded in a right manner, while others responded in a wrong manner. Jonah was one of the people who had God's call come to him two times. In each instance you will find that he responded in a different way. Each of his responses gave a different result. Let's look at his two responses.
First, God came to Jonah and called him to go to Nineveh. Jonah's response to God's first call was to flee to a city called Tarshish. Jonah wanted nothing to do with the people of Nineveh. They were a very evil people, and a people whom he hoped would see God's judgement. The response to run from God's call set off several consequences. First, it caused Jonah to go down instead of up. In other words, his response didn't cause him to do better, it caused him to do worse. Second, it caused him to care less about the circumstances around him. While the ship he was in was in a great storm that endangered the lives of everyone on board, he was in the bottom sleeping. Third, his response caused God to judge him. The sad part about God's judgement was that it affected the sailors in the ship. Jonah didn't care that others were suffering from his consequences, because he was too selfish to listen to God's call. Finally, it caused Jonah to hate life. Running from God's call in his life led him to the point where he told the men to throw him overboard so that he could die. What a tragic result, and all because he would not listen to God's call.
Second, God came again to Jonah the second time in the belly of the whale and called him to go to Nineveh. This time Jonah responded in a right manner. You will notice that responding to God's call in a right manner didn't put people's lives at risk; instead, it caused people to get right with God. Because Jonah responded the right way to God's call, it gave him an urgency to get God's message to the people of Nineveh. What was normally a three day journey took him one day. Responding to God's call in the right manner caused him to publish and proclaim the Word of God. Because he responded in the right way, he was not ashamed of telling others what God's Word said. The result of responding the right way was that a whole city got right with God and repented.
Christian, how you respond to God's call will either cause you to face the judgement of God or cause others to come to Him. God's call comes to you through many different avenues. It can come from reading God's Word, the preaching of the Word of God or through the prodding of the Holy Spirit in your heart. It is imperative that when God's call comes in your life that you respond in the right way. God's call isn't always about going into full-time service, but His call will move you to do something by faith.
How are you going to respond to God's call? Better yet, how have you responded to God's call? Always remember there will be consequences to your response to God's call. Choose to listen to the call of God, for the right response will always lead to God's blessings on your life and others receiving His message for their life.