Christian Devotional – May 3, 2026

The Reluctant Follower, Day 11

The short and hopeless message. Read Jonah 3:4-5.

Most preachers get accused of preaching too long. Jonah didn’t have that issue. Now that he has finally gotten around to actually preaching the message that God wants him to give, he still really doesn’t seem like he’s that into the message. Yes, he is obedient and goes to Nineveh. Yes, he preaches to them about God and that God isn’t pleased with them. But, this may be ones of the shortest sermons in history and it certainly isn’t filled with any hope.

Jonah tells the people of Nineveh, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” End of message. No hope. No “if you repent…” verbiage. Just the pronouncement of judgment on the people. When we go to hear a sermon today, we typically want the preacher to explain how we have hope in Jesus. And while that’s true, it’s only part of the picture. We are all guilty and need to recognize our guilt. Once we understand the depth of our guilt, we will appreciate the depth of the grace of God and the mercy of Jesus who saves us. However, Jonah didn’t go into all that. He just told the people that they were going to be destroyed in 40 days.

When we are only reluctantly following Jesus, we will miss key parts of what God has commanded us. While Jonah may have been obedient to preach the message, he certainly wasn’t happy about it and he really didn’t want God’s mercy to extend to these people since he didn’t even bother to mention that God is merciful. Are we sharing the message of God with others? Does that include sharing the mercy of Jesus Christ?

Watch the video devotional here: https://youtu.be/bWTR0fUFq2s