Going Down Guilt-Lane: Through the Eyes of Jonah

Guilt is that feeling that usually follows a wrongdoing. It makes the wrongdoer feel low in the spirit. It makes the individual distraught and dejected. It

makes him uncomfortable. It robs him of his joy, peace of mind and confidence. Guilt comes with torment. It is the bane of many suicide cases in our society today. 

The guilt effect is an entrapment carefully woven by the enemy in the heart of the individual to make him feel he does not deserve God's mercy, or that he is so unworthy of God's love. In essence, it drives the individual far away from God, as we see in the life of Jonah.

The story of the prophet Jonah in the Bible is very remarkable. You can read the entire story in the four short chapters of the Book of Jonah in the Bible. God gave him clear and specific instructions to go to Nineveh to preach the gospel to them, or they will be destroyed. Jonah however had his own personal reason why Nineveh should be destroyed. He said much later that he knew God was always merciful; so should he prophesy the destruction of Nineveh and the people turn to God in repentance, he knew God would definitely forgive them and not destroy them again. To him therefore, this would discredit him as a prophet - he prophesied doom but it never happened. Because of God's mercy.

This informed the decision to go to Tarshish. Jonah, instead of going on the errand of his Master, decided to go on a wild goose chase. All the while, no doubt, Jonah carried guilt in his chest. The Bible says:

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went DOWN to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went DOWN into it, to go with them unto Tarshish FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (Jonah 1:3, KJV, emphasis mine).

It is this guilt that will keep Jonah down throughout the perilous journey. A raging tempest broke out at sea, and everyone was praying to his own god for deliverance, but this guilt-ridden man was “gone DOWN into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep” (verse 5, KJV, emphasis mine). 

Sin, which heralds guilt, is of a stupifying nature, and it is imperative that you take heed lest at any time your heart becomes hardened by the deceitfulness of it. It is the policy and evil ploy of Satan, when, by his temptations he has drawn a man from God and his duty of service to Him, to rock him to sleep in the security of carnality, that he may not be sensible of his misery and imminent danger. It is important therefore that you keep your eyes open.

Guilt keeps one down, and until there is a repentance and confession of sin, one keeps going down. When the tempest would not stop, even though the people on board have done all they can to steady the ship, even going as far as throwing their goods overboard, yet the ship was on the verge of capsizing, Jonah asked to be thrown into the sea, and there will be a calm. After much argument because they didn’t want his blood on their hands, they succumbed. The Bible says in verses 15 through 17 that Jonah was hurled into the sea. As he sank down, God caused a great fish to swallow him. Jonah sank down into the belly of the fish. Once guilt is involved, one goes and keeps going down.

But then, the story doesn't end there. Jonah began to pray to God from the belly of the fish (Chapter 2)! Jonah realised his fault, and repented. Consider the following verses:

Then I said, I have been cast out of Your presence and Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple... I WENT DOWN to the bottoms and the very roots of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. Yet YOU HAVE BROUGHT UP MY LIFE from the pit and corruption, O Lord my God (Jonah 2:4,6, Amp. Emphasis mine).

Sin is the harbinger of guilty feelings. Guilt comes with tormoil of mind and instability in the spirit. This is what the storms Jonah encountered represent. Guilt is therefore something that must be handled before it becomes too late.

Keep checking in, and in the next post, I shall be sharing with you how you can handle guilt. God bless you. 🙏