Arlie Whitlow

Recently, my wife’s computer got a virus.  It aggravated the fool out of us.  The computer slowed way down, to the point it would barely respond at all.  I wanted to throw it out the front door.  It was sick.  All of its processing power was occupied dealing with this virus, and it couldn’t respond.

Many of us get virus like thoughts in our mind that occupy us, and distract us.  These are unhealthy thoughts, thoughts of defeat and hopelessness, thoughts that are in reality untrue.  But, we focus on them like they are fixed forever.  They pull us down, and darken our horizon.

I’ve found an incredible cure to clean your clock of viral thoughts.  Take a clean sheet of paper and actually write them down.  That helps you see clearly just how ridiculous these thoughts are.  Be sure and write each one down.  You might have 5 to 10 different viral thoughts pulling you down relating with family, work, yourself, your relationship with God, and your future.

After that, go to the Lord in prayer.  Openly verbalize each of these thoughts to God in prayer, and then confess that you know they are untrue.  Then thank God for what is true about your situation.  More importantly give praise about what can be because God really does love you and is working for you.  If he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for your sins so that you could have relationship with him, he’ll do anything to help you!  Do that, and then watch the peace that comes.  You’ll rejoice in new hope.  The clouds will be driven back!

Philippians 4: 8-9 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I’ve known of the story of Jonah since I was just a kid.  I knew that Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because the Ninevites were wicked, the enemies of his people.

But honestly I thought, “So what?  A normal person would just go and get it over with.”  I’ve always thought Jonah over reacted.  The Ninevites could not be that bad.  But, actually they were.

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire.  Jonah lived around 770 BC, a time when the Assyrians were at the height of their power and influence.  In Jonah’s time the Assyrians had made reputation for themselves.  When their kings went to battle to expand their empire they would torture terribly their prisoners of war.  They celebrated their cruelty.

Archeologist have uncovered many large stone wall panels from this time that show grisly post-battle scenes.  These “works of art” were put up in the king’s palace.  Also, detailed written descriptions of post battle tortures were inscribed into pillars in the palace.  One historian said, “It is as gory and bloodcurdling a history as we know.”[1]

One of the cruelest was a king by the name of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC).  He wrote for example – “I flayed (the skin from) as many nobles as had rebelled against me (and) draped their skins over the pile (of corpses)…I cut off the heads of their fighters (and) built (with them) a tower before their city.  I burnt their adolescent boys (and) girls…I captured many troops alive: I cut off their arms (and) hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, and extremities.  I gouged out the eyes of many troops.  I made one pile of the living (and) one of the heads.  I hung their heads on trees around the city.”[2]

These were the Assyrians.  The Ninevites.  In Jonah’s day they were breathing down the necks of his people, threatening to invade their land.   No wonder Jonah didn’t want to go.  Not just because he would be risking his life, but because these people deserved to pay.  They of all people deserved strict justice.

It is amazing that God would send a prophet to them at all.  Amazing that when the prophet ran, God sent him through a storm, had him thrown overboard, swallowed by a giant fish, and spat out on dry land to insure that he would go to Nineveh and preach his message of repentance.

Amazing that we read in Jonah 3:10 – When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. God’s love, grace, and compassion for people no matter how desperately wicked is something I can’t fathom.  His amazing love receives the sinner who repents and brings them to everlasting life.  How wonderful is the compassion and mercy of God.

Bruckner, James K. Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah : The Niv Application Commentary from Biblical Text– to Contemporary Life Niv Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004.

[2] Ibid., 29.