My favorite part of the book of Jonah is not the part about the great fish. I actually think this is the best part:
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 3:10, ESV
Jonah thought the whole time that he was supposed to go to Nineveh to let the people know that they were doomed. God intended to punish the people of Nineveh for their evil ways. In the end, it turned out that Jonah’s warning was a catalyst for repentance. The people humbled themselves before God, and His response was to spare them the disaster they deserved.
We should see ourselves in this story. We are all sinners, and our evil ways put us in opposition of God’s design. Like the Ninevites, we deserve death for our sins. But instead of the punishment we deserve, we are given another chance through the blood of Christ. From a different perspective, we are like Jonah. We never know fully how God may use us to draw others back to Him.
VC Devotionals 