Uh, Uh, Get Somebody Else To Do It.

Where all my TikTokers at!? I’m not sure if that’s what the collective of people who scroll for hours on that app is called, but you know who you are. I occasionally find myself on there from time to time whenever I need a good laugh, recommendations on a good place to eat, or someone has sent me a video to watch. On one of my occasions, I stumbled across a video of a woman who was approached by a girl asking if she could record her, to which the woman replied, “uh, uh, get somebody else to do it.” Like all great TikTok videos, the video went viral, the audio began to trend, and now this response is forever paired with laughter at the thought of the video that started it all. It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t take something and make it churchy, but I was instantly reminded of a man who was the epitome of “Uh, Uh, Get Somebody Else To Do It.”

My guy Jonah. If you ever went to vacation bible school a day in your life, I’m sure at some point you heard about the man who ended up in the belly of a fish for three days. Maybe VBS or Sunday school wasn’t your thing, and you’re confused about what you just read; let me help you out.

We find a man named Jonah in the Old Testament when God calls him to GET UP and GO preach in a city named Nineveh. Instead of being obedient, Jonah Got Up and fled from God, or at least he thought. Amid Jonah’s fleeing, God begins to pursue him relentlessly. We first see this in V.4 when God threw a great wind onto the sea while Jonah attempted to escape on a boat. This caused a detour in his escape route because once the men recognized his God didn’t play about him and was ready to tear the ship apart for him, they said Jonah had to go. They threw Jonah off the boat, but this is where we see God continue his pursuit after Jonah in V.17 when God appointed a great fish to swallow him. For years when I heard this story, I always thought the fish was horrible and wondered why God would allow that to happen. However, once I reread the verse, the word ‘appointed’ changed the narrative. The fish was actually the favor of God because had there been no fish; Jonah would have died. I always thought the fish was to kill him when in reality, it was to keep him. Now, this isn’t the point of this blog, but I feel like there’s something on that. The thing you feel “stuck inside” that feels like a trap or a curse may actually be the hand of God; look again (Jonah 2:4). Now we find Jonah inside this fish, and I cannot even begin to imagine or attempt to give some sort of imagery to what he was experiencing for three days and nights. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but what is shared is that Jonah prayed. It was from this place of despair, a place that was beyond humbling, that Jonah asked for forgiveness and a second chance.

God being God, meets Jonah for a second time (although he had never left him to begin with) and tells him to Get Up and go preach to the people of Nineveh. THIS TIME Jonah started straight off for the assignment God had been calling him to all along. There is so much that can be taken from this story, but I can’t take my heart off the character of God. That even in our sin, our disobedience, our escape plan from His presence, our uh, uh, not me God, he still doesn’t let up. God could have called anyone to preach to those people, but He wanted to use Jonah as His instrument. Flaws and all. While God is a God of second chances, it is my prayer that we not give him the opportunity to be that out of our obedience to the first call. If you say me, Lord, then I’ll do it, start it, lead it, write it, share it, preach it, give it, leave it. Whatever it is, you can count on me to do it.

Now, I’ve talked about the lady on TikTok, and I have talked about Jonah, but can I make it personal? Chileee, I often tell God to get somebody else to do it more times than I’d like to admit. Throughout my life, there have been moments when God would call out for me to speak, write, lead, pray for someone, leave something, whatever; and I would attempt to run from the assignment God asked me to complete. Yet still, there God was with relentless pursuit. Chasing His daughter down because He knew there was more in me and more attached to me than I could see for myself. The fear of what would happen on the other side of my Yes gripped me for so long. No matter how often I tried to escape the call, God never let up on His chase for me.

So my encouragement for you today is to think about the last thing God asked you to do. What was the response you gave Him? Have you been hitting Him with an Uh, Uh, get somebody else to do it? Because the reality is, He could. Don’t think God’s will won’t get done if you aren’t the one to do it, but recognize that if He called you, you are the vessel that He wants to use for his kingdom to be done on earth. That is not an assignment to push off or take for granted. No longer will we despise or diminish what has been asked of us by God, but may we take it on with the confidence of knowing if He called us to it, He will give us what is needed to get through it.

Uh, huh! You’re the somebody to do it!

“Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God’s orders to the letter.
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Jonah 3:1-3 MSG

What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?

Matthew 18:12