A Lesson from Jonah

I have a good job; God has blessed me a lot over the past 5 years. But I knew from Day One that I didn’t want to be in food service for the rest of my life! :) Toward the end of the California trip, I was beginning to wish I didn’t have to go home and work in my secular food service job for the rest of the summer. I was loving all the ministry opportunities I was involved in! But God was getting ready to show me the nature of my heart…

We arrived at Camp Ironwood with only a week and a half left to go of the trip. The few days we were there was the last week before the camp season began; the counselors and staff were in full gear preparing for the campers’ arrival. The camp director, in lieu of the camper’s chapel time, held a service for the counselors and invited us to attend.


Mr. Brock told the story of Jonah—the man of God who tried to flee from God but found out it wouldn’t work! I wrote in my journal, “The theme was God is prepared. He knows what will happen when we sidestep His will and when we’re right in the middle of it. I needed to be reminded of Jonah’s story…I’m having the time of life in the middle of “full-time” ministry work…and going back to [my job] is really not appealing.” I wasn’t about to run away physically…I would get on that plane to go back home and I would put on my work uniform when my first day back rolled around…but in my heart, in my attitude, that’s what I was doing. I was running even when I knew perfectly well what God wanted me to do. Praise God He didn’t let Jonah’s plans succeed, and praise God He hasn’t let me remain in my bad attitude. He rebuked me, and continues to rebuke me whenever I’m tempted to wish for something else.


I finished my entry about the message: “But God has the perfect path for me; these 5 weeks it’s been ministry in California. For the rest of the summer and the next year, it’s working full-time and getting involved at [my church]. Lord willing in a year, it will be grad school and helping out at [a former teacher’s recent church plant]! But each stage is specifically sent by God with purpose. God is prepared.”

"I will cry out to God Most High,

To God who performs all things for me.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

Let Your glory be above all the earth.

I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;

will sing to You among the nations."

~Psalm 57