So we’ve all heard the story of Jonah and the whale, right? God calls Jonah to go to Ninevah…and he’s like, “nah…God…I’d rather not.” He bails. God’s like, “no way, son”…and Jonah ends up in the belly of the whale. That harsh reality of “Oh snap…I’m not big enough to run away from what God is calling me to do” hits Jonah like a ton of bricks.
This week at VBS with Savage Ministries in Trujillo, we demonstrated several of the typical VBS Bible stories. The Good Samaritan, Jonah and the whale, Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego…you know the drill. And true to form, Team Awaken was assigned the games rotation. Duh.
Day 2 was Jonah. We adapted freeze-tag to have “Jonas” y “ballenas,” and the kids LOVED it! After a failed attempt at a new game on day 3, we went back to Jonas y Ballenas. Before long, I decided to not only give instructions in Spanish, but play the game as well. I jumped in to run with the whales.
I couldn’t help but see the immediate parallel to my own walk with God and journey to the World Race. Most people who knew me in college are aware of my adamant stance that I was NOT called to the nations. Nope. No way. No-how. I was going to stay in the good ole U-S-of-A in my good ole comfort zone…far away from any leaps of faith or moments where I needed to actually trust God with risky circumstances. Nu-uh. Safe and sound it my safe little life.
Well…um…about that…
Here I am, an international missionary. God, ever-abounding in His grace and patience for me, brought me here. My flesh fought it for years. My selfishness battled with God over His will for my life…it’s an ugly mirror to look in sometimes. If I was choosing “my way”…things would never have played out like this. I wouldn’t be sleeping outside in a dangerous neighborhood in Trujillo, Peru. I wouldn’t wash my clothes in a bucket. In my ideal world, I wouldn’t eat sitting on the dusty cement in the hot sun. The list could go on and on.
Jonah ended up as fish-food because he high-tailed it outta there when God said, “Go.” His self-centered worldview landed him in the belly of the whale, alone, and fearful for his life. And how many times do we hear God direct our steps so clearly, yet we say “no thanks” and run full-speed in the opposite direction?
I’m thankful that it didn’t take me ending up in some metaphorical whale’s belly for God to get my attention. And now that I’m here on the World Race, it’s a constant decision to die to myself, my desires, and what I think my needs are…consistently choosing Him over myself. Consistently choosing others over myself. But everywhere I turn, I see the whales of selfishness that have the potential to creep up into my daily thoughts and actions if I’m not wary. The enemy is always waiting to steal my joy, whisper lies that this was the wrong choice, and show me how somewhere else is better.
Be cautious of the whales of selfishness that are lying in wait to swallow you up. You just might miss out on the abundant life in Christ that God has for you. He just might have an incredible adventure in store…but if you choose your comfort over Him…you just might miss it.
