Go to Nineveh
Read Time: 8 Mins
“Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the Lord.”
Jonah 1:3 NET
Think back to when you’ve felt the presence of God the strongest. When did He show up in the most distinct way? At what moments was His voice the clearest in your life? I can remember the moments distinctly. I can picture where I was and what I was feeling. And I've noticed an interesting pattern. It’s almost a paradox. My spiritual mountaintops are often tied to my personal valleys. When I’m the weakest, God shows up the strongest, and I think if you’re spiritually and emotionally honest, you can recognize the same thing. God shows up strongest when you allow Him to go through the hardest seasons with you. It's when we face fear that we find faith. It's when we experience death that we start to understand resurrection. God often invites you into an emotional storm so that you can see Him as a Savior. And it's through embracing these moments that we often experience God on a deeper level. Sometimes the worst moments are really the best moments in disguise, and I believe this is what God was inviting Jonah to experience when He called him to face his worst enemy.
Nineveh was the Assyrian seat of power. Assyria was Israel’s sworn enemy. They were famous for their violence, conquest, and creative cruelty. We are actually told that the Assyrians would torture and impale their victims and destroy cities simply to inspire fear, and this is who God is telling Jonah to preach to. Think of the stories Jonah heard about how terrible they were. He saw news clips of their debauchery. He heard of them bombing children’s hospitals and ripping babies out of pregnant women. Maybe he had family members who experienced the racism and hatred they spewed and were still dealing with the consequences of their cruelty. The Assyrians were the worst of the worst in Jonah’s mind, and Nineveh was the symbol of their sin. And God is calling Jonah to preach to them?
Jonah, later in His discourse with God, shares that he was afraid that God would forgive them. Can you imagine the emotional toll of having a front row seat to seeing the person who molested you, cheated you, destroyed your people, and ruined your future being forgiven and seemingly walking away scot-free after you were the one who invited them to accept God? Even the most pious among us would have a problem with this, so Jonah ran.
While exact locations are debated, it’s argued that Nineveh was only about 600 miles northeast of Joppa, but Tarshish, where Jonah fled to, was about 2,500 miles west. He ran almost 4x the asked distance just to avoid the difficulty of preaching. This is like me being asked to go to Nashville, TN, from Cleveland, OH (around 600 miles away) and going to San Francisco, CA (about 2,500 miles away) instead. Driving to Nashville from Cleveland would take a little over 7 hours, but driving to San Francisco would take about 36 hours. Let's be real. Can you imagine the gas prices? Can you imagine the physical toll? Can you imagine the wasted time? The Bible says that Jonah paid for this trip. It cost him to run. It took something from him. And this is my question: What unnecessary burdens are we taking on because we are too afraid to face the emotional fear associated with listening to God? What does this look like in our modern lives?
I get that Ninevah is scary, but how much is avoiding it costing us? How many of us are walking with a limp for years because we are too afraid of surgery? How many families are crumbling because we’re afraid of hard conversations? How many of us are drowning financially because we won’t address the emotions we have around money? How many of us are living outside of the will of God because we’re afraid to trust Him with our complicated feelings? How many of us are bleeding on the people we are called to love and lead because we won’t go to therapy and address the unhealed childhood wounds we are afraid to face? What is avoiding acceptance of God’s will for us costing us?
We keep making excuses as to why we won’t go to Nineveh when anything God calls us to is for our good. We keep telling ourselves reasons why we don’t need Nineveh. We say others need it, but we don’t. We say that the cost of going to Tarshish isn’t too much for us, so we avoid the difficult decisions God is calling us to. We convince ourselves that the cost of running and avoiding is worth not having to face our Nineveh. We keep saying Nineveh is too hard to face when the alternative is much harder. So what is your Nineveh? Nineveh, in this devotional, represents the place God is calling you to go to that you think is too emotionally hard to face. It’s the conversation, acceptance, forgiveness, or way of life that you’re avoiding. It's the hurt you won’t allow God to heal. It's the emotional door you're too afraid to open. It's the uncomfortable place you won’t allow God to take you to. It’s the wound you won’t let the doctor look at. It’s the past pain that is holding you back from stepping into a future of favor. We all have one, maybe a few. What’s your Nineveh? What is God calling you to face?
What is your Nineveh?
Maybe your Nineveh is therapy. That’s something I’m being challenged to commit to because I refuse to bleed on my wife, friends, future kids, friends, family, ministries, and churches because I'm not as healed as God called me to be. And while it’s difficult, I see the benefit. I believe you may need the same thing.
I want to touch on the fear, misconception, and stigma around therapy, because this is a call for you to consider it. You’re ok with a doctor for your body, a dentist for your teeth, a mechanic for your car, or a contractor for your house, but you’re too afraid of a trusted therapist for your mind? It may cost. It may be hard. But it’s worth it. It’s going to someone trained to walk you through uncovering the places you may have avoided letting God into. It’s allowing someone to walk with you through your past in order to improve your present and future by teaching you language and application steps as you face the things God has called you to. It's letting someone help you address the wounds of your absent father or critical mother. It's letting someone unravel the walls you put up because of the abuse and trauma you thought was normal. It's helping you unlearn the unhealthy coping mechanisms you may have picked up along the way. I'd suggest that everyone should spend some time in therapy. The Bible says that there is wisdom in a multitude of trusted counselors.
Don't Avoid Ninevah
This is what God is saying to you. People are literally dying without the hope of a savior because you’re too fearful and selfish to go where God is sending you. God wanted to save a nation through Jonah, but he didn't want to go because it was too emotionally hard. God has designed and commissioned you to be His mouthpiece but because you’re uncomfortable, you are ignoring the people you’ve been called to save. You have to face that hard place if you're going to truly minister to the people you're called to. Your children and grandchildren will thank you if you commit to going to Nineveh. Stop the generational cycles and curses you’ve become nose blind to by facing the uncomfortable strongholds God is calling you to tear down. Stop ignoring Ninevah. Stop running from it. You keep running to Tarshish when the miracle is at Nineveh.
Get Mad
I remember hearing pastor John Coaxum say that many of us aren’t mad enough yet. David got up and fought Goliath because he was mad. He went into the valley because he knew there wasn’t a middle ground. Either the Philistines would be his slaves or he would be the Philistines' slave. He knew that what he didn’t master would master him, so he went into the battlefield and fought, and guess what. It was worth it. Maybe you aren’t angry enough to go into the valley of your fear, distrust in God, and hurt to face the thing that’s trying to enslave you. I hope you can decide that today is the day to stop running from the valley where your victory is found. That valley is often a hard emotional place. But in order to face it and come out victorious, you have to get mad enough at the results and casualties of not facing it. Your family is broken, your children are held back, and your ministry is stifled because you won't face the battle that is threatening them.
It’s often said that progression only happens when stagnation hurts more than the fear of moving forward. Maybe some of us need to see more bankruptcies before we face the emotional connection of our spending, lack of discipline, and desire to impress people who don’t even see us. Maybe we need to pause and acknowledge the curses on our families and fear passing them onto our kids in order to do the work of stopping them. Maybe we need to recognize the toll of fatherlessness in our families before we get mad enough to fight against it. Maybe we need to recognize how our children have only seen cycles of divorce before we prioritize our marriage. Maybe we need to see early deaths before we take our health seriously. What is it that would be needed for you to get mad enough to go to Nineveh? People are hurting. People are crying out. Your family is broken, burdened, and bleeding, and you have the power to do something. Will you go to Nineveh?
Yes, it’s hard, but everything is. Stop avoiding the difficulties God uses to bless you. Marriage is hard, but divorce is too. Financial discipline is hard, but poverty, debt, and the anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck with no margin or savings for an emergency is too. Fighting for your children is hard, but seeing them never want to come back home is hard, too. Obesity and health complications are hard to go through, but workouts, meal planning, and discipline is hard too. Committing to the straight and narrow, committing your life to God, and taking up your cross daily is hard, as I don’t know what. But life away from Jesus is hard, too. Nineveh is hard, but avoiding it is hard, too. There's no easy path, but some paths are worth more. There will be trials, but committing to God's way means that everything used against you will be turned for your good. Don’t avoid Nineveh because it’s hard. Choose it because it’s worth it.
Jonah saw God move in Nineveh. Jonah had an opportunity to allow God to mold his heart in a new way because of Nineveh. Jonah had a chance to experience God in a new way because of Nineveh. Many of us are asking for the same thing but avoiding Nineveh. Listen to God and go.
What is your Nineveh? What is stopping you from facing it? Ask God to push you into purpose.
Here are a few things that come to mind from my experience and the experiences I've seen from others, as it relates to therapy as a Nineveh specifically:
Yes, you need it. If you're feeling the Holy Spirit's tug, don't ignore it. Therapy isn't just for crazy or low-achieving people. I actually think it's the high performing who carry heavy responsibility and call who need it the most. Go to a professional to make sure you're functioning in as optimal a space as possible.
Give it time. The first few sessions are to build a rapport and establish a relationship. It may be uncomfortable, but don't give up before you get the breakthrough you came for.
It’s ok to find a new therapist. Just like with a mechanic or doctor, the relationship may not fit, and it’s ok to find another one.
Put God before the people He uses. Just like you would with any pastor or leader, don't allow the person leading you to God to become your God. If you don't have your own personal relationship and foundation in God and His word, you won't be able to vet which voices are good or bad for you. While God can use therapists like anyone else, make sure you vet the voices you're listening to and make sure they align with the Word of God.
It’s fairly easy to sign up. Go to PsychologyToday.com and find a therapist in your area who may specialize in your needs.
It doesn't have to be forever. In my first session, my therapist told me that one day, in a few weeks or a few years, I'll “break up” with them. Just like with a physical therapist, there will be a point where you don't need them as much. And that's the goal. While you can always decide that you need to go back and gain more tools or explore more ideas, this isn't meant to be a crutch.
It's about community. We’ve been designed for community and connection. Not only is there wisdom in a multitude of counselors, but the Bible says confession with community brings healing. This isn’t just about therapy. Your life should be full of people you can be honest with, talk to, and bounce ideas and feelings off of. Prioritize a community that can keep you facing Christ.
It’s ministry. For years, the church seemed to be the only suitable platform for ministry. If you had gifts in communication, admin, people, wisdom, faith, or vision, you assumed you had to be a traditional pastor. But now, people with the same gifts are realizing they can reach more people from a podcast mic than a pulpit. Maybe you can get closer to people in a therapist's office than in a testimony service. Maybe that gift of shepherding comes out in coaching, or that gift of administration comes out in the marketplace. God is using people, like therapists, to shepherd outside of the church. Maybe he is calling you to something similar.
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