Sometimes you just know what you gotta do, but you don’t know what the result will be.
It could be a confession and apology that might not make a difference and might be hard to say.
The folks in Nineveh heard a quick message from God’s prophet, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” – Jonah 3:4, and immediately knew what they needed to do. They started to fast before the Lord and the King issued a decree saying, “but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish” – Jonah 3:8-9.
“Who knows?” the king wonders. The people didn’t know if their actions would help or change their situation, but they knew it was the right thing to do regardless of what happened next.
Life is like that a lot. People are left wondering what the result of their actions will be. We crave certainty rather than obedience. Jesus was asked to give a sign to help the Pharisees believe and he rebuked them for it. “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here” – Matt 12:4.
Even when you do not know what the outcome will be, trust the Lord and do the right thing! God has given us all the certainty and example we need in Jesus. “Who knows?” God does, and he has already shown us how the story ends. Trust him and do the right thing!
Pastor John Riley