Running from God

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah 1:1-3 ESV.

Jonah learned the hard way the consequences of running from the will of God. When we reject God’s instruction we are in effect avoiding His presence. Refusal to obey His instruction for our life usually gets us in a whale of a mess when life circumstances swallow us up. Some may think they are following God, however following God requires doing His will. To say we are following the Lord and not doing His will makes no sense. To be away from God’s presence is to place yourself in a dangerous place.

RUNNING FROM GOD CAN ENDANGER THE LIVES OF OTHERS

“But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” Jonah 1:4 ESV

Jonah was going in the opposite direction of Nineveh and never anticipated he would endanger the lives those he was traveling with. Our rejection and refusal to obey the will of God will hinder or jeopardize the well-being of others. When Jonah realized the passengers lives were in danger, he sacrificed his own life by having them through him overboard. It was at that moment he realized the seriousness of the situation and was willing to accept full responsibility for his disobedience.

TODAY’S PRAYER 

Heavenly Father, help us to realize that it’s never in our best interest or the interest of others to run from your will because of fear or apprehension of what you have called us to do. 

God Bless,

Pastor Matt