Obedience is better than Sacrifice!

Jonah 4:9-11

You would think a life-threatening sea storm and a few days in a fish’s belly would shake some sense into a person. Yet that wasn’t the case with Jonah. The final paragraphs of his story reveal a vengeful prophet who ostensibly obeyed the Lord but allowed his heart to remain on the run and run from God.

Jonah paid a financial price for running from God—his ticket to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). And any Sunday school student can tell you the physical consequences he endured. But when those events were long past, Jonah still grappled with the spiritual cost of his flight. His peace and joy were gone. This is what happens when we continue to runaway from God and especially from what he wants us and commands us to do and we don't want to for whatever the reason, either because we are afraid as was Jonah or we don't feel equipped or prepared. In their place was bitterness so strong that he begged God for the relief that death would bring. This can happen to any of us and we see it all the time when people commit suicide and take their own life which by the way it's an unforgivable sin. Just because we refuse to go to God tell him of our problems or fears or simply we are disobedient to what he has called us to do.

As believers, we cannot disobey the Lord without paying a price. Certainly our spiritual life weakens. The skills and abilities God has bestowed on us will atrophy from lack of use while we waste time fleeing. And our actions could also have negative consequences in other areas, such as our family, finances, and health.then why we wonder why has this happened or happening to me.

Perhaps you have a habit, a plan, or a current course of action that you know defies God’s will. Have you considered the cost? Though Satan may try to convince you otherwise, there are consequences for wrongdoing. The Lord is holy and righteous, and allowing people to get away with sin is simply incompatible with those attributes and he cannot turn a blind eye to sin. God only turned his eyes away from sin once and that was when his son was hanging in th cross of Calvary paying and taking upon his shoulder the sin of our lives. When God turned his eyes away was not that he was ignoring his son but it was because he cannot be in the presence of sin. What’s more, the price for following your own will is high. Just look at how miserable Jonah was because of the choices he made. The reward for obeying God is much more pleasing. Yes, there are times that pleasing our God is difficult because of our rebellion against the trails and tribulations of the world and my friends I agree this world is not fair. I can speak to you about this because I too have run from God because of my rebellion but the bad part is that it was not God's fault but mine. I will tell you that I paid dearly for sin and lost everything and I mean everything. But not until the Holy Spirit worked with my rebellion and made me see, I did not change. Then I started once again to turn my heart towards God and he forgave me restored not only me but is currently restoring what I once have lost. Amen . Remember obedience is better than sacrifice.