In the book of Jonah we read: “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” BUT Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” (Jonah 1:1-3) God told Jonah to do something he didn’t want to do, and so Jonah ran. And if you know the story of Jonah, you know he ended up on a ship that was about to sink in the midst of a terrible storm. He was then thrown overboard, swallowed by a great fish, and eventually vomitted up on the shore, where he then went to do what God told him to do in the first place.
If Jonah had just done what God told him to, he wouldn’t have been on that ship in the midst of a storm, and he wouldn’t have ended up in the belly of a fish for 3 days and nights. Those storms ALL happened because Jonah refused to do what God commanded. They were self inflicted storms. I’m sure getting thrown overboard in a major storm was terrifying, and then being stuck in the belly of a fish for 3 days and nights was NOT fun either. However, he brought them upon himself…Jonah thought he didn’t have to do what God told him.
How often in our own lives do we experience self inflicted storms, troubles, pain, and other difficulties simply because we refuse to do what God commands us to do! If we TRULY are children of God, He WILL discipline us when we do wrong. Deuteronomy 8:5 tells us, “Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.” He give us fair warning over and over in the pages of the Bible….DO RIGHT or reap what you sow! Yet, too often we think we can just live however we choose, and we don’t have to do what God commands us to do or not to do in His Word. And when we disobey and dishonor God – we bring upon ourselves self inflicted storms.
It’s a lot easier to do whatever it is God tells us to do, no matter how difficult it may be, than to face the consequences of disobedience to Almighty God! Rest assured, if we are TRUE believers, God WILL punish un-confessed sin in our lives. It might not be instantly like in the case of Jonah, but punishment WILL come if we refuse to repent of our sins and follow Him. Revelation 3:19 “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”