I sat on the phone with a heartbroken mother today. Through tears, she told me about how her son, who has severe ADHD, had been ejected from a local small-town VBS. Apparently, the teacher had some not-so-graceful things to say about her son, which devastated her. The volunteer, she explained, even said he didn’t care what it cost him at the church. He would not have her son in his class.

As I sat praying… this morning, God reminded me of Jonah the prophet. He, too, was one of God’s chosen teachers, who was reluctant to answer his own call.

As a mama of my own kiddo with ADHD, my heart ached for her. This is a common occurrence for us. Our children look like everyone else, but they are different in how they experience the world. They are misunderstood, and yes, sometimes difficult, if you don’t understand all the ins and outs of their disorder. As I sat praying for her this morning, God reminded me of Jonah the prophet. He, too, was one of God’s chosen teachers, who was reluctant to answer his own call.

I bet Jonah scowled at the very idea of going to Nineveh.

I can just hear that inner dialogue. “Seriously, God? THEM!?” These people were so not up Jonah’s alley. They were pagans who worshipped a fish God. They were wicked. Fierce. Dangerous. Unclean. And they were the enemy. Jonah felt that if they received judgment, then they would be getting what they deserved. “No, really, that’s ok God. I think I’d rather go to Spain, see the sights, breathe the ocean air.”

And that’s just what he did. 

He rejected the ministry God called him to. What Jonah didn’t understand—which God gracefully and patiently taught him throughout the four short chapters in the book of Jonah— is this:  when God has appointed something, like a great fish, a plant, a worm, or even a man— that little piece of His creation is to be obedient to that call. If you read Jonah, you’ll notice that throughout the entire story, all of creation was obedient to what it was appointed to do, except for Jonah. 

Looking at the first chapter, you’ll notice something important. Instead of going to Nineveh, he went to Joppa. Joppa literally means ‘beautiful.’ Ah, now it’s beginning to make sense. We want God to use us… but we would prefer our usefulness to revolve around what is easy and beautiful. We don’t mind serving, if it involves people we can relate to. We’re not really interested in messy ministry, with people who are tough to be around, wicked, or different from us. That’s just too much. 

What we see in Jonah’s reluctance is his prejudice. He just simply didn’t like the people he was called to serve. Rather than endeavoring to see the Ninevites through God’s eyes, and to be obedient to the call, he took steps back. And that was a very costly move.

Can you relate to this? Are there people who just grate on your nerves, who you’re repelled by? Be honest: Who are your ‘Ninevites?’

 Sometimes it’s individuals who have hurt or disappointed us. Sometimes it’s a particular temperament or personality. It can also be social groups like cliques or economic status.  I’ll be the first to admit, I have my own Ninevites. When God pushes me in certain directions, I resist, because I want to define the terms of my own call. Because it’s hard, and I want easy and beautiful.

But through Jonah, God’s gentle Spirit calls to me, challenges me, reminding me that His grace extends to everyone, and that I am ‘appointed’ to obey, to go, to make disciples, regardless of my own preferences. I think of Jesus, who loved us while we were yet sinners, who laid down his life for us. I am reminded of my own distasteful demeanor and habits prior to my salvation experience. What if the one who was sent to me had acted that way? Where would I be if they had run away instead of running in?

What if the one who was sent to me had acted that way? Where would I be if they had run away instead of running in?

Even our Ninevites are valuable to God. He will fight for them as he fought for us. He sees them as what they can become in His powerful, transformative hand, not as they are. And so, as His appointed people, we have a choice to make. We can oppose God’s direction and find ourselves in our own personal spiritual battle like Jonah—or we can operate in cooperation with God, accept the call to love others and share Jesus, and watch Him do the miraculous right in front of us.

Will you be a messenger today? Can you accept that we aren’t asked to define the terms of our call? We are simply His instruments. So do the work of prayerfully identifying those you find it difficult to serve. Ask God to forgive and soften any hardness in your heart, and to change your perspective.

Say yes to the appointment which He has given you…whether in a moment’s encounter, or a life-long ministry—and watch Him change the world, beginning with you.

“Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:23-26, ESV)