God’s Care: When We're Called to the Unexpected

I remember my first year as a teacher at Jefferson Elementary in Sheboygan. They assigned me the “difficult” 5th-grade class because I was the new young teacher, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was up for the challenge. I doubted my ability to work with the students and wondered how I was going to make it through the year. Thankfully, my principal, Wayne Blessing, saw something in me that I couldn’t see at the time. He encouraged me, saying, “You have the ability to take this on.” Even though I had my doubts, I took a deep breath and stepped into that classroom, uncertain but hopeful.

Jonah’s story reminds me of that experience. Just like I didn’t feel ready for my 5th-grade class, Jonah wasn’t exactly thrilled when God called him to preach to Nineveh, Israel’s greatest enemy. He tried to run the other way, as far from Nineveh as possible, but God had other plans. What Jonah eventually learned—just like I did in that classroom—is that God’s mercy and grace go beyond our comfort zones, and they aren’t limited by our fears or doubts.

Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh was rooted in real concerns. The Ninevites were known for their cruelty, and Jonah couldn’t understand why God would offer them a second chance. But as we see in the story, God’s mercy doesn’t follow human expectations. It reaches everyone, even those we might consider beyond saving. God’s love is for all people, and sometimes we are called to share that love in places we never imagined we’d go.

By the end of that school year, those "difficult" students had taught me more about resilience, patience, and grace than I ever expected. They didn’t need perfection; they needed someone to believe in them. Much like Jonah eventually realized, I discovered that God was working through me, even when I wasn’t sure I had it in me.

As we reflect on Jonah’s journey, let’s ask ourselves: Where is God calling us to show mercy, even when it feels hard? Who are the people we resist serving? Jonah’s story reminds us that no matter how far we try to run, God’s mercy will always find us and invite us to participate in God’s abundant love for all.