RUNNING FROM GOD

 

RUNNING FROM GOD

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction in order to get away from the LORD. He went down to the seacoast, to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshis. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping that by going away to the west he could escape from the LORD. NLT

I am intrigued by Jonah’s fleeing from the Lord. He did not want to go where God wanted him to go. He did not want to do what God wanted him to do. He did not want to agree with God and so he decided to run away and hide where God could not find him. I suspect Jonah was not alone. It would be interesting to know how many of us would honestly admit that we too have fled from God. How many of us try to hide from God, hoping that He will not find us and leave us alone?

This is not about those who don’t know the Lord. Jonah was a prophet, a man who knew God and was called to serve Him. He ran, knowing full well what it was God wanted him to do. God doesn’t always ask us to do what we want to do. He asks us to do what He wants us to do and what He knows we can do.

Jonah did not like what God had in mind to do. He knew that God was more than likely going to show mercy and love rather than judgment on his enemies, and that didn’t set too well with Jonah. He didn’t want what God wanted. He wanted justice, not mercy.

Jonah foolishly thought he could run and get away from God. There is nowhere you can go to get away from God. The only thing you can do to avoid God is to completely reject Him as your Savior, to deny Him access to your heart. Otherwise, God will find you wherever you may try to flee. He will not let you off the hook that easy. He will do all He can do to convince you that you need to bend your will to His and obey Him.

Are you running away from God today, or are you doing His will for you?