“Pick me up and throw me into the sea.” Jonah 1:12 NKJV
IT’S A mistake to cling to someone when God is telling you to let them go. Until you obey God, the storm you’re in will keep getting worse, as in the case of Jonah. The Bible says: “The sea was growing more tempestuous. And [Jonah] said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know…this great tempest is because of me.’ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous…Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.’
So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging” (vv. 11-15 NKJV). God has a plan for the “Jonahs” you’re dealing with, and it may require them to hit the bottom before they rise again. And as long as you keep trying to rescue them, God’s plan is being thwarted and delayed. Jonah’s problem wasn’t that he didn’t love God, it was that he didn’t want to do God’s will. So God resorted to extreme measures to get his attention, push him toward his destiny, and save the city of Nineveh. You have no idea what God has in mind for the person He’s asking you to let go of. If they are His redeemed children, He wants to prosper them (See Jeremiah 29:11). That’s why He wants to save them—so let them go!
Bible In A Year: Gen 32-34, Luke 9:46-56, Ps 145:14-21, Pro 4:23-24
