“This book is about the disturbing possibility that, having pledged your life to Christ, you may end up spending much of that life avoiding the God you set out to serve. It’s about the conflict in the heart of every Christian and the grace of God that, when you see it, will draw you into the pursuit of a God-centered life.”—Colin Smith
“It is one thing to know the doctrine of salvation by grace, and quite another to know the grace of the doctrine of salvation. This is the lesson of Jonah, the prophet who knew God’s grace but was challenged by God inwardly to embrace it. Sinclair Ferguson has expressed Jonah’s story in these terms: ‘It really is a book about … how one man came, through painful experience, to discover the true character of the God whom he had already served in the early years of his life. He was to find the doctrine about God (with which he had long been familiar) come alive in his experience.’” —Richard Phillips
1. God calls Jonah.
“Godly people wanted to hear his Word in those days just as they do today, and so Jonah would have been in big demand. If he was in ministry today, Jonah would have a full schedule of speaking engagements, his books would be best sellers, and his page on Facebook would be bombarded by fans. Jonah enjoyed a good life doing good work in a good place, He was living his dream until, one day, God interrupted his life.” —Colin Smith
2. Jonah’s response to God.
“When God interrupts your life, you may find that your comfort is more important and your obedience more conditional than you thought. That’s how it was with Jonah. God’s call exposed a thinly-veiled selfishness beneath the surface of the prophet’s life.” —Colin Smith