Failure signYou failed. Or you rebelled. So…what happens now? What does God do with our failure or rebellion? You may be surprised.

The story is so familiar, even to non-Christians, that we have a tendency to skip over parts of the biblical account.

I’m talking about Jonah, his rebellion, and God’s reaction. You remember the story. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach, and he rebelled…went the other way. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, and God brought a violent storm.

In the story in Jonah, chapter 1, we see that the sailors were not followers of the God of Israel. The scripture says that in the midst of the storm, these weathered seamen shouted to their gods for help. In fear for their lives, they find that Jonah and his rebellion was the cause for the storm. Jonah tells them that the way to stop the storm is to throw him overboard. These sailors didn’t want to do it. And in the process of dealing with the crisis, they began to pray to Jonah’s God. And, finally, they did what Jonah asked. They tossed him into the sea.

Now, before we quickly jump to the part about the fish, take a look at what God did right here. Remember, Jonah was rebellious to God, a failure at following His will. Yet, when the seamen tossed him into the raging sea, immediately the storm stopped. Calm. Quiet. Peace.

Here’s the passage that amazes me.

[blockquote author=”Jonah 1:5-16 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.[/blockquote]

Do you see that? The sailors sacrificed to the one true God, and vowed to serve Him.

Yes, the rest of the story is amazing, too. The fish. Jonah’s repentance. The revival in Nineveh. God at work. But this is what gets me. God used Jonah’s rebellion and his failure to bring a witness of the Lord’s great power to hardened sailors. And they began to follow Him.

We look at the dark side of our stumbles, our missteps, our failures and rebellion, and often miss what God may be up to. No…we shouldn’t rebel just to see what God does with it. But we need to be reminded of the greatness of God, His love and compassion for all, and His ability to use even our failures for His grand purpose.