Jonah: A Call to Obedience and Compassion

Many times, as a Satanist, I would sit in church and think—
"Why is that person here? Just to talk? To gossip? To put on a show—‘Look at me! See how religious I am!’"
Others were simply there to say they had attended.

But then the question came—
"Child, what if I thought that about you?"
"What if I had not sought you out from where you were?"
"You would not be sitting in that chair, or anywhere near this church."

That truth struck deep. No, they are not perfect. But neither am I. And yet, God brought them here—just as He brought me.

Wrestling with the Past

Lately, I’ve been struggling with dreams of past events in my life. As Easter approaches, memories surface—memories of how, in Satanism, Easter was not a celebration of resurrection but a season of sacrifices.

The sacrifices had to be precise, carried out exactly as instructed, or punishment and curses would follow.

I hadn't thought about this for years, but now, these memories have driven me to my knees in prayer.

I turned to the story of Jonah, and I saw myself in him.

Like Jonah, I know what it is to run. I know what it is to wrestle with God’s call to love the unlovable—to reach out to those whom, in my own heart, I have deemed undeserving.

But God’s love is not conditional.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
—Mark 2:17

The Struggle to Love Like Christ

For me, this struggle isn't just about sharing the Gospel—it’s about who I feel comfortable talking to, and who I don’t.

I see the people around me, and I wrestle with my own heart:
"Do I truly love them?"
"Do I see them the way Jesus sees them?"

Jesus looked over Jerusalem and had compassion on her.
"When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
—Matthew 9:36

But when I look at those I find unlovable, I often become bitter, angry, unforgiving, and self-centered.

Jonah’s Storm, My Storm

"Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up."
—Jonah 1:4

Like Jonah, I have put my trust in something other than what I know to be right.

I have sat back, letting others deal with the people in our church who seem unlovable—those who don’t look right, don’t dress right, don’t smell right.

Yet, even as Jonah slept at the bottom of the ship, God was still there.

I know what I am supposed to do, yet I keep resisting.
And still—God pursues me.

Obedience in the Middle of the Storm

I need to be obedient to God—not so that I can earn a relationship with Him, but because I already have a relationship with Him.

Right now, I am in the middle of a storm.

But God is saying:
"Just because you are in the storm, I am still here. You can still obey Me."

Recently, I faced disrespect from people I struggle to love. I could have said,
"Look at how I’m being treated! These people have disrespected me!"

And I could have fired back—defended myself, justified retaliation.

But instead, I chose not to hold it against them.

True Repentance, Not Pretend Repentance

I am the one who needs to repent—but it must be genuine.

God does not honor fake repentance.

"Now the Lord had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah."
—Jonah 1:17

The word appointed means assigned—God had hurled a storm at Jonah, and now He appointed a fish.

Even when we are not repentant, God still pursues us.

I am slow to learn, but God knows that better than anyone.

He isn’t chasing me just to meet me in the belly of the fish—He is chasing me because He wants fellowship with me.

God doesn’t care about what I can do for Him nearly as much as what I can do in Him.

A Call to Surrender

Before anything can change, I need to be on my knees in repentant prayer.

"In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry."
—Jonah 2:2

Compare this to:

Psalm 51 (David’s cry for mercy)
Psalm 54 (Seeking deliverance from enemies)
2 Chronicles 6 (Solomon’s prayer of dedication)
Jeremiah 1:4-7 (God’s call on a reluctant prophet)
Repentance means surrender—not blaming circumstances, but stepping onto the road God wants me on.

Conclusion: Jonah’s Story, My Story

Jonah’s reluctance is my own.
Jonah’s storm is my storm.
Jonah’s struggle to obey is my struggle.

Yet the truth remains—God does not stop pursuing.

Obedience is my next step.
Not because it earns me grace—but because grace already found me.

Amen.