Fasting: What’s in your heart? You can catch up on the earlier posts in the series here!

Poor Jonah…If you do not know the story of Jonah and the whale, which is actually a big fish, here is the short version:

God tells him to go to Nineveh to preach to the wicked people and say that if they didn’t change their ways He would destroy them. Nope, no way in this world is he going to do that. So, he makes a beeline for Tarshish, via Joppa, and hops a boat, where he makes all kinds of trouble.

Think about this: Jonah actually lived in Gath-hepher, which was close to Nazareth in Israel. Jerusalem was approximately 30 miles NW of Joppa. But Tarshish? The contrast here is amazing. Nineveh was EAST of the Tigris River in what we call Iraq today. It was more than 500 miles EAST of Jerusalem! Tarshish was WEST of Jerusalem and Jonah’s hometown. It was at least 2200 miles from Israel and it was in the OPPOSITE direction, way down in the southern tip of Spain!

The men on the boat discover Jonah must be the cause of the mayhem, since the ship is about to sink, so he confesses that he is the lowlife they are looking for and even though they do not wish to do so, they finally throw him overboard.

Picked up by a giant fish, he spends three nights in the belly of this overgrown sea lion, not the most pleasant of accommodations. “Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly…” Jonah 2:1.

Confession is good for the soul…especially in Jonah’s case. ”And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Jonah 2:10.

Now what? Surely saying he was sorry was good enough and he could go back home.

Not so fast Jonah. “And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” Jonah 3:1,2.

The second time. But this time Jonah was in no position to argue. He wasn’t about to; he didn’t even want to imagine where he might end up next!

Jonah heads straight for the city of Nineveh, a most wicked city where they burned their children alive! The third chapter of Nahum describes how the city of Nineveh had fallen into such depravity and wickedness. So Jonah immediately follows the commands of the Lord: he begins to preach. He tells them they must repent because in 40 days the city would be overthrown.

Do you know what the amazing thing was? The people believed God!!

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

The city of Nineveh believes what Jonah tells them, they heed his warning and believe in his God. They proclaim a fast and put on sackcloth (a sign of repentance and humility) even down to the least of them.

Word comes from the king himself, he takes off his robe, covers himself in sackcloth and proceeds to sit in ashes! He said,

“Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger,that we perish not?”

The entire city believed the Word of the Lord! The entire city repented! The entire city, and all of their animals, fasted! They did not even drink water for what appears to be three days. They humbled their souls with fasting and what happened?

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Jonah 3:3-10.

Did they change the mind of God? God is sovereign and He never changes but Nineveh DID change and the people were repentant so God showed MERCY on them which is reminiscent of His character. Repentance, a broken spirit, turning from sin and turning TO God for forgiveness will cause the Lord to reach out a hand of MERCY!

This is what Jehovah wanted them to do. It was not His desire to destroy the city or else He wouldn’t have sent Jonah there to warn them. It was His desire that they repent and turn from their wicked ways. Thankfully, this king had a repentant heart and turned his people back to God.

He humbled his soul with fasting and his people followed him. He saved an entire city from destruction by the humility of prayer and fasting!

“And God saw…And God repented….And He did it not.”

God always acts consistently with His Word, He never changes but if WE change, He will again honor His Word and show Mercy.

Two huge things to notice here.

• God hears the cry of the people when they are warned and they humble themselves with fasting and repentance; God then spares their lives.
• But Jonah had to be changed too. His heart was a mess! He didn’t want to share his God with such heathens; he literally needed a heart-change. He wasn’t even a happy fellow when they repented! You can read more about that here.

Remember, God may send you to Nineveh, to a specific place or a specific person, maybe someone you think is beyond hope or would never be interested in the Gospel. Maybe you have resisted that nudging from God because you just simply don’t care for this person. Today, consider they just might be like the people of Nineveh and respond to the Word. Look at your own heart and then heed the call of God. You just might help save a city!

If you are fasting for a specific purpose, salvation for a friend or family member, a job change, a financial need, a loved one with cancer or whatever the need might be…God hears your prayer. How He chooses to answer that prayer is entirely up to Him and His will. Petition your need, pray for His will and then allow Him to work on your heart, preparing you for whatever the answer may be. That is what fasting is all about, drawing nigh to Him so He will draw nigh to you and ultimately make you more like Jesus.

Sharing a recipe out of my book, The Daniel Fast Devotional. There are recipes after every devotion in this easy-to-read tool. Have you received yours yet? Get it here on Amazon in either Kindle or paperback version. It’s great for ANY FAST!

Cashew Salad

1 cup salted cashews

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower kernels

6 green onions, chopped

1 head Nappa cabbage, chopped fine

Saute’ the nuts and sunflower kernels in a tiny amount of olive oil until just barely browned. Add to the cabbage and onions and top with oil and vinegar dressing. It’s delicious!