The Power of One

Let us consider what happens when an individual chooses to obey God. After spending three days and three nights in the stomach of a great fish, “the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah onto the beach” (Jon. 2:10, NLT).  

Having survived this experience, Jonah emerged a changed man! We know that he was changed because while inside the whale he re-committed his life to the Lord (see Jon. 2:7-9).  All that Jonah had gone through prepared him to receive the word of the Lord for a second time. Consider the following points: 

1. Jonah was given a second chance. 

It is clear that Jonah’s disobedience meant that he missed fulfilling God’s Word the first time he heard the Lord. And yet, chapter 3 shows that experience was now behind him. Simply stated: 

• What appears to be the end might just be the beginning of something new! 
• Every failure has within it the seeds of a new opportunity! 

There is no mistake; there is no failure or setback that God cannot redeem and use for His glory. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Jonah was given a new opportunity – a second chance – to serve the purpose of God by going to Nineveh. This is why it is important for each one of us to understand that it is never too late for God to use you!  Simply stated:

• Your life will reflect what you believe about yourself. 

2. Jonah obeyed the Lord. 

Despite how big the request was, Jonah simply “obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh” (Jon. 3:3). Jonah 4:11 tells us that the city of Nineveh had “more than hundred and twenty thousand people” living in it. This could have been quite an intimidating request!

In was in the early days of his campaign for civil rights that Dr. Martin Luther King received a late night telephone call from an angry man who said: 

“Listen…we’ve taken all we want from you; before next week you’ll be sorry you ever came to Montgomery.”[i]

Filled with despair, Dr. King got out of bed and went to the kitchen table where he sat with his head in his hands. As he sat at the table he prayed: 

“Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now, I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage. Now, I am afraid…I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.”[ii] 

It was at the moment Dr. King finished praying that he heard the Lord say, “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you.”[iii] 

As a result, Dr. King said he experienced the presence of God like never before, for he said “at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.”[iv] 

In light of this change, Dr. King became available to the purposes of God like never before.        It is important for us to understand that obedience requires availability. Obedience is not merely a theological concept, but a practical reality.

3. Jonah’s obedience saved a city!

Jonah’s decision to obey the Lord opened the door for the miraculous power of God to be released. In this case, the miracle was: The Ninevites believed God! Consider the impact of just one person who decides to obey the Lord! 

• Just one person working with God can turn a city upside down! 
• Just one person working with God can spark a call for repentance! 
• Just one person working with God can ignite a revival of faith in the darkest of places! 

[i] As quoted by Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Autobiography, ed. Clayborne Carson (New York: Warner Books, 1998), p. 77.
[ii] Martin Luther King, Jr., Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., p. 77.
[iii] Ibid., p. 78. [iv] Ibid., p. 78.