Jonah 3:1–10 ‘Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”’ (vv1–2)
It was seven words (five in Hebrew) and a whole city turned around. Now of course it may be that we have just a summary of what Jonah said but, even so, it was a simple message. Why the turnaround?
Interesting to note that the Ninevites worship a fish god ‘nimrud’, which is pictured in the Assyrian section of the British Museum in London.
Is it possible that Jonah told his story of being swallowed by a big fish and rescue from that fish by his God, showing his God to be mightier than theirs?
If so, God uses even Jonah’s disobedience as part of the message to the people he was preaching too, rather in the way that God uses the compelling rescue of all of us, as part of our story for those God reaches.
Former drug addicts sharing with addicts; former prostitutes sharing in the red-light district; and former gossips sharing in churches where gossip is rife!
It took three days to walk the streets of the city and we learn later that we have around 120,000 who turn back to God.
Your testimony may not take many words. It will be more than seven, but you could summarise it in a few minutes: before you came to faith, coming to faith and what faith means to you today.
The simple statement: ‘If you ever wanted to hear how I became a Christian, I would be happy to tell you!’ will pique the interest of some. Why not give it a go?
A Prayer To Make:
Give me opportunities, Lord, to share my story with someone soon. Amen.
An Action To Take:
Write down your testimony and tell it to someone. Make sure it’s jargon free.
Scripture To Consider:
Exod. 4:1–16; Isa. 6:1–13; Acts 22:1–21; 1 Pet. 2:9–12
