TeaTime Devotional October 28th, 2025

Written by: Tiwana Dennis

Immediate or Selective Obedience

Scripture: Jonah 1: 1-2 NLT

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me”.

Testify:

To me, being tagged by God means he has an assignment specifically for you. (insert sigh!). Don’t judge my sigh, I’m just sharing what my usual response is when God gives me an instruction that I’m “reluctant” to receive and even more hesitant to execute. And just like Jonah, my initial response is to run! I am just being HONEST and sharing what I need to work on. Like Jonah I am still developing immediate obedience, not selective obedience. Because just like Jonah I’m learning, you can run, but you can’t hide. When you are tagged by God, you will do what he has assigned you to do.

Edify:  

In this scripture we see Jonah was TAGGED by God, He was given a clear instruction that was for him. The scripture says the word of the Lord came to Jonah. That means the Lord himself gave him direct instruction. The word wasn’t delivered by someone else; it didn’t come to him from his family or friends; scripture says the word came from the Lord. The Lord instructed him to go to Nineveh and to preach against their wickedness. Jonah was tasked with warning the city of Nineveh that God was not pleased with their sins and his wrath would be upon them if they didn’t change their wicked ways. When you read the entire book of Jonah you will know that Jonah had beef with the Ninevites and didn’t want to warn them about anything, he wanted them to suffer God’s full wrath. But that wasn’t God’s plan or his instruction. Jonah was rebellious, angry with God, disobedient, and he ran. From the moment Jonah was tagged by God and chose disobedience his life was full of turmoil. Every place he tried to hide was met with disaster. Jonah eventually was obedient; he went to Nineveh and delivered God’s warning.  The people of the city received his warning and changed their wicked ways. God saw this and did not bring destruction upon hundreds of thousands. Jonah’s obedience saved lives.  When you are tagged by God, the assignment isn’t just for you.

Apply: 

Read the book of Jonah, it’s only 4 chapters! Find yourself in Jonah’s story. Be truthful with yourself and assess if you’ve given God your yes. If you haven’t, remember that your assignment and obedience isn’t just for you.