Jonah 1:12 says, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you.”
Wait! What? Jonah could’ve said, “Turn the boat toward Nineveh.” That would’ve calmed the storm. But instead, he chose the sea. He chose drowning. He chose death over obedience.
Ever been that stubborn?
I once heard about a farmer and his dog. The dog lay on the porch, occasionally letting out a long, pitiful howl. A visitor asked, “What’s wrong with the dog?”
“He’s lying on a nail,” the farmer replied.
“Why doesn’t he move?”
“Guess it don’t hurt bad enough yet.”
Jonah was lying on a nail. God said go. Jonah said no. When the storm came, he didn’t repent. He opted for the sea and death. But God wasn’t done. Jonah found himself in the belly of a fish, in the depths of the sea, wrapped in seaweed and regret. And finally there, in the dark, he got off the nail.
Pain is a great teacher. It doesn’t always whisper, it howls. It reminds us that God’s commands aren’t suggestions. They’re invitations to life. And when we resist, the storm comes. Not to destroy us, but to redirect us.
Are you lying on a nail today? Is God calling you to forgive, to go, to trust? Don’t wait for the storm to howl louder. Get off the nail. Do the thing you know God’s asking of you.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.