Jonah 1:1-2 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
Here we see the call of God coming to Jonah. We don’t hear much about Jonah before this time and suddenly, because of the calling of God, he is thrust onto the world stage.
The calling of God changes things. It is a great privilege to be called by God and many people aspire for or long for something like this to happen in their lives.   But it is also a great responsibility.
Growing up in a ministry environment, I often saw people who could not wait to get into the ministry. My father would often tell them to stay out of the ministry as long as possible. This would cause a visible disappointment on their faces. The reason my father would say this was that people longed for the privilege but never really considered the responsibility. Often the responsibility was far more that what they had anticipated and many would eventually leave the ministry because of this aspect.
Perhaps Jonah realized what God had actually asked him to do and what it would actually entail. Jonah knew God had said he had to go to Nineveh.  Nineveh was one of the largest cities in the world for an estimated 50 years. It was situated in modern day Iraq. An ancient Mesopotamian city situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. It was far from where Jonah found himself. It was in the middle of the desert and potentially hostile. It was another nation, another culture and a different people group.
It is easy to throw our hands up and say yes Lord I will go wherever You want me to go and I will do whatever You want me to do, but do we stop to count the costs? Do we take the time to consider things and do we understand what it will require of us?
Once we have settled this important aspect we can move ahead. Settle this aspect once and for all that you are called by God in your specific sphere of influence and step up into this awesome privilege and pick up responsibility.
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