Wrong Number, IV

When I look at Jonah, though, I don’t think his problem is a lack of confidence or a lack of desire.  I think Jonah has every confidence that he can go to Ninevah and tell the people there what they are doing wrong, and I imagine he would love to do that!  Jonah was an Israelite, and Israel was conquered by Assyria.  Ninevah is the capitol of Assyria.  You can imagine that Jonah had no love for the people of Ninevah.  His problem is not in telling them what they are doing wrong, and Jonah tells God no (at first) because he knows he can do the job well.  He’s afraid he will do such a good job that the Ninevites will actually repent!  And that God will show them mercy.  Jonah would quickly have said yes to God’s call if he could have controlled the outcome.  Jonah’s reason for saying No is that he was not willing to give up control.  He didn’t trust God enough to surrender everything – even control – to God.

It is interesting to me to read about fishing during Jesus’ time.  There were two kinds of nets that fishermen used from their boats.  One of them was a trawl-net.  It was dragged behind the boat, and became like a large bag, collecting fish as the boat moved.  The kind of net that Peter and Andrew were using was smaller.   The fishermen would throw the net from the side of the boat – its operation required skill and talent.  In order to fish like Simon and Andrew were fishing, the fishermen had to be involved.  Even so, it wasn’t like fishing with a pole.  Simon and Andrew had to throw the net – be involved, and yet they couldn’t choose the fish they caught.  The net would catch all kinds of fish, unlike a using a pole and catching one fish at a time. 

Fishing for people – following the call of God – would in some ways be the same.  We have to say yes to being involved – to casting the net -- and yet we have to give up control of the result.  We have to trust God enough to place the outcome in his hands.

Psalm 65, verses 7 and 8, say “On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”  Doesn’t our response to God come down to trust?  We have to trust him enough to place our faith in his choice – he chooses us and calls us.  We have to trust him enough to follow his lead, even when we would rather do something else.  And – maybe hardest of all -- we have to trust him enough to give up control. 

Whatever our excuses are, our faith leads us to the belief that God is worthy of our trust.   God is calling you today – in some way – to let go of your nets and to immediately follow him.  Will you tell God he has called the wrong number?  Or will you say yes, and follow him?

The following four posts were a sermon I preached this past Sunday.