Stinky Place

On Sunday I began a short series of messages on Jonah. I think that his story is particularly applicable to believers today because he is an example of a believer who was unwilling to speak for God outside his religious sub-culture. He was a prophet to the people of Israel. But, when God asked him to prophecy outside the confines of his religious group he ran from the task.

We preach hard when we are in a board meeing, small group lesson, Sunday school class, or Christian retreat setting. But, put the typical believer in another setting and suddenly they hide who they are and what they believe.

Running from God gets us in stinky places. Jonah was in the stomach of a fish. It is not pretty to talk about, but it was a bio-bladder filled with seafood vomit. That is a stinky place to be.

Here is something encouraging if you are in a stinky place. God lifts people out of stinky places. In John 11 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead over the objections of Lazarus' sister who said, "By now he stinks!" God lifted Joseph and Jeremiah out of pits. I wonder what the lions den smelled like? When tossed in the fiery furnace the God fearing survivors did not even smell like smoke.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 uses the idea of smelling good to illustrate the way we can effect the world. God wants to help you smell good. God saves people from stinky places through Jesus Christ.