Digging Deeper – The Painful Consequences of Ignoring Instructions
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT)
THE PAINFUL CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING INSTRUCTIONS
Exasperation and frustration—that is what I felt, and that is what I caused my wife early in our marriage. Long before IKEA, other retail establishments offered the good old DIY furniture assembly. I can recall purchasing desks, side tables, and chairs from a variety of stores—the kind that also happened to sell groceries, household cleaners, and school supplies.
I’d get home from the store, tear open the box, and begin tackling the project. But no matter what the item was or where it was purchased, it always seemed to end the same way: me, angry and sweaty, with extra washers or bolts in my hand that hadn’t been used. “Why?” you ask. Because I failed to read the instructions!
It’s one thing to ignore the instructions included in a box filled with particleboard, hex screws, and wing nuts. It’s altogether different when God Himself tells you to do something, and you defiantly go in the opposite direction. This is precisely what Jonah did after God told him to go to Nineveh.
Jonah served as “God’s man”—His messenger. As a prophet, he certainly would have known the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). He also would have known that you can’t hide from God (remember Adam and Eve?). But fear and uncertainty drive us to do some outrageous things, clouding our ability to see and think clearly.
Sometimes I think to myself, They had it much easier back in the Old Testament. God spoke directly to them, and He was present with them much of the time. But clearly, it wasn’t easy. Time and again, we see God’s chosen leaders making grave errors in judgment—or completely disregarding His instructions.
Because we all have doubts. We all get a bit anxious over the unknown. We all like to be comfortable. But, as we’ll see throughout the week, God’s plan will come to fruition. And we’ll have to face the painful consequences of our decisions when we defy Him.
C.A. Phillips serves as Communications Pastor and Director of Men’s Groups at NorthStar Church. He is a graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and he loves the Dawgs and the Atlanta Braves. He has two (grown) boys and lives in Kennesaw with his wife, Amy, and their German Shepherd, Abby.
