Jonah 1:3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
Stretching avoids hurting our muscles and tendons. It helps in preventing injuries by gently lengthening the muscles and warming-up the tissues. Stretching improves blood flow relaxing tense muscles. Warm tissues handle stress better than cold, stiff tissues.
Spiritual stiffness causes injury to the soul. Callousness to God’s instructions will cause a spiritual muscle tear. The best way to treat a muscle tear is to stop all activity and rest. Similarly, spiritual stiffness will debilitate our spiritual growth and progression.
Jonah’s resistance to obey God’s instructions resulted in a spiritual injury. He fled from the Lord and found a ship to travel in the opposite direction. Nineveh is in the east (modern day Iraq) and Tarshish is most likely the region of Spain. By refusing God’s commission, Jonah not only endangered himself but also brought a storm that nearly sank the ship he boarded. Spiritual stiffness is dangerous. Refusing to listen to God’s instructions and rigidity to the divine direction is foolish.
The Lord made Jonah travel back to Nineveh in the belly of the fish. When the fish spued Jonah in the shore of Nineveh he must have looked like an alien covered with fish slime and seaweed goo. Refusal to forgive, hoarding bitterness and willful disobedience to God’s Word are spiritual stiffness that will cause painful muscle tear. Until our spiritual stubbornness and rebellious disposition are surrendered, there will be no spiritual progression.
Stretching avoids injury:
- Force: If we refuse to stretch, the circumstance around us will force us to stretch. Forced stretch is painful but planned stretch is pleasurable.
- Flex: Rigidity is the opposite reaction of flexibility and will give us the opposite result. Similarly, allowing the innate nature to dominate will incapacitate our spiritual growth and result in spiritual injury. Be flexible.
- Free: Surrendering stubbornness and spiritual stiffness will set us free. Forgiving those who hurt us sets us free from the burden of bitterness.
“Stretching avoids spiritual injuries.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, I surrender my inflexibility to forgive, forget and let go the offenses of others. Help me not to hurt myself or others by my stiffness. Amen.
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