Are You Sitting Still?

Even if you didn’t grow up in church, you probably know the story of Jonah. He was the guy who ran away from God and got swallowed by a big fish.

Sounds familiar, right? Let’s dive a little deeper into the situation.

Why did Jonah run from God? Well, God asked Jonah to do something, and he didn’t want to do it. God wanted Jonah to go warn some people that they were acting evil, and tell them they needed to change. Only Jonah didn’t think these people–a whole city full of them, so we’re talking thousands–deserved to be warned. He didn’t think they should get a chance to change.

I’m glad Jonah isn’t the one in charge of whether or not I get a chance to change, aren’t you?

Anyway, Jonah decided that he disagreed with God, so he got on a ship and sailed the other way. Away from the city God wanted him to warn. But God was like, “Um…not cool. You need a time out.” (Can you tell I have a three-year-old?)

Silly Jonah. As if getting on a ship and sailing away will get you away from God. Duh. This is the part that always makes me question Jonah’s smarts.

So God sent a big storm that nearly took out the ship and everybody on it. And it turned out Jonah wasn’t so clueless after all. He knew God was behind the storm. It also turned out he wasn’t quite as selfish and self-righteous as he seemed because he had the sailors throw him overboard to make God stop the storm. And it worked. The storm stopped, and Jonah got swallowed by the fish. Not a great scenario, but better than drowning.

He was in the fish for three days, the Bible says, repenting his socks off for thinking he could run away from God. (I would have been, too.) And then, when God was satisfied that Jonah was on board with his plan, he had the fish spit Jonah out on the beach, right back where he’d started from.

That’s a lot of hassle to end up right back where you started from, in my opinion.

If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking something along the lines of, Okay so clearly, it’s not smart to run away from God. Noted. And maybe, if you’re like me, you’re thinking you’re golden because you’re not blatantly running away from God, trying to ignore something he’s commanding you to do.

But let me ask you this: Are you sitting still?

It occurred to me that Jonah was a great Captain Obvious kind of example, and it’s easy to think we’d never be like him. We’re probably more likely to spend our lives sitting still, humming along in our day-to-day routines, moseying around in our comfort zones.

But isn’t sitting still–when it comes down to it–the same as running away?

Is there something God has asked you to do, and you’ve consistently put it off because it’s inconvenient or it would take more effort than you want to give?

Is there someone you’ve felt nudged to share the gospel with, but you’ve ignored the nudge because it makes you uncomfortable?

Is there a conflict or misunderstanding that you know you need to resolve, but you’ve avoided it because conflict resolution isn’t fun?

Is there a leap of faith you’re being asked to take, but you’ve put it off because leaps of faith are scary?

Are you inside the belly of the fish (figuratively speaking), and you just haven’t realized it?

If there’s anything I’ve learned from the Bible, it’s that Christ followers don’t lead boring, quiet lives. We’re not supposed to blend in with the mainstream culture, we’re not supposed to sit on the sidelines. We’re not supposed to be comfortable or complacent. We’re asked to do more, to be more, for the sake of the gospel. We’re asked to dream, run, risk, believe. We have a calling.

People who are called to something don’t sit still. People with a purpose don’t lie around. They don’t get comfortable inside the big fish.