For This Time, God Has Called the Jonahs

Are you a prophet on the run? Are you running away from your assignment to speak the word of the Lord? Are you running from the presence of the Lord? Are you hiding? You can run, but you cannot hide from God.

The Lord is calling the Jonahs. You will not be the first and you will not be the last because there are Jonahs in every generation. There are prophets running from God today. Don’t be a prophet on the run. You have been called to bless your generation. Don’t run and hide from the call. Embrace it and obey God today.

For those who don’t want to speak for the Lord, I pray that His word in your heart will be like fire shut up in your bones (see Jer. 20:9)!

God told Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh. Jonah instead went the other way. Jonah ran from the presence of the Lord. There are many prophets who are like Jonah. I call them prophets on the run. They sense and know the call of God to be a prophet, but they say, “I cannot handle that calling.”

If you are a prophet on the run, then you know you cannot hide from God. You cannot hide in the bottom of the ship as Jonah did. You cannot hide from the presence of the Lord.

In Psalm 139:8-9, 12 David wrote, “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell at the end of the sea … even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines as the day, for the darkness is like light to You.” Even the darkness cannot hide from God, Jonah tried to hide, but God knew where he was. God knows where his Jonahs are. He knows where every prophet is.

Jonah did go to Nineveh. Jonah did speak the word of the Lord to that city. The results were astonishing. The whole city repented and was spared.

Jonah’s assignment was to speak to a city. What is your assignment? How many lives hang in the balance as a result of your calling? How many people will be blessed when you obey God?

This is a call for the Jonahs to arise and go to Nineveh. Where is your Nineveh? Whom are you sent to? These are questions every prophet has to answer. 

Your Jonah experience has prophetic significance. Even Jonah’s experience was prophetic. He was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. This was a picture of Christ being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (see Matt. 12:40).

When you are prophetic, even your experiences will be prophetic. Jonah was prophetic even when he was running away from the call. Prophet, you can’t escape. You have been designed by God to be a prophet. You will see things even when you are running from the call (see John 1:11-12).

Jonah knew what was going on when the storm came. The men on the ship did not know, but Jonah knew. Prophets know when they are running. They know the trouble of running from the call. Jonah told the men to throw him overboard. Then a big fish swallowed him. Jonah cried out to God from the belly of the big fish. He promised God he would pay his vows.

Prophets, many of you have vowed to serve and obey the Lord, but you are running the other way. It is time to keep your vows, promises, dedications, and obligations.

Arise and obey, Jonah. Don’t get yourself in trouble. Necessity is laid upon you. You have to obey God. You have to arise. Jonah prayed, and God brought him out of the fish’s belly. God will bring you forth when you pray.

There are many ministers who have accepted the call to preach but are running from the prophetic calling. Maybe your group does not believe in prophets. Maybe you have seen people call themselves prophets who did not have good character. Maybe you have seen false prophets. These are reasons why some run from the call.

Adapted from Prophet Arise by John Eckhardt, copyright 2015, published by Charisma House. Has religion and tradition hindered you from rising up into your true calling? If so, this book is a must-have for you. It will help you understand your anointing, unique characteristics, call and purpose while providing healing and deliverance where needed. To order your copy click here.

Prayer Power for the Week of October 5, 2015

This week respond to God’s calling, whatever it is, by surrendering to His will and agreeing to do, say and go wherever He leads. Continue to pray for revival to ignite in our churches and spread throughout the nation. Pray that our leaders would seek God and ask for His wisdom to govern righteously. Begin to pray now for the upcoming elections and ask the Lord for direction in how you should vote. Remember Israel and the persecuted church. Pray for opportunities to share Christ and His love everywhere you go (Jer. 20:9; 1 Tim. 2:1-4; 2 Chron. 7:14). {eoa}