Running from God??

I went to a women’s conference with my sissy a few years ago and one of the evangelists spoke this word from the book of Jonah. I don't recall exactly what she ministered; however, the story stuck with me as I had never read the book of Jonah prior to that conference. As a you may know, Jonah is a book in the Old Testament that is a story about disobedience. God had called on Jonah to cry out against the city of Nineveh because it had been overcome by wickedness. Instead of Jonah being obedient to the call that God had put on his life he attempted to flee to Tarshish via a boat. On that journey the men amongst the boat found themselves in the midst of a storm in which everyone began to call upon their gods to calm the sea. Ironically, Jonah was fast asleep in the boat and was not aware of the storm. He was awakened by those amongst him and as they began questioning who he was. When they found out that Jonah was a Hebrew and feared the Lord they became afraid (funny that they did not worship our God yet when they heard His name and experienced His wrath even they feared Him). After hearing who Jonah’s God was even these men (who were not of God) began to call on the name of the Lord to calm the storm, which did not work. As the last resort, Jonah was thrown into the sea which  then calmed the raging waters. The men that were amongst the boat now feared the Lord, offered sacrifices, and took vows. As a part of God’s plan, Jonah was swallowed by a large fish. Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the fish. After Jonah had cried out to God from the belly of the fish God delivered Him and spoke the word that Jonah had ran away from once more.

There are 4 take aways in the first 2 chapters of Jonah.

1.       Disobedience (Jonah 1:1-3)

2.       Storm (Jonah 1: 4-16)

3.       Prayer (Jonah 2:1-9)

4.       Deliverance (Jonah 2: 10) 

Questions:Are you running from God out of disobedience? Are you the cause of a storm around you that you aren’t even consciously aware of?

Sometimes we don’t realize the importance of what God has called us to do so we ignore it as if we didn’t hear Him. You can do a lot of things but one thing you cannot do is hide from God, we learned that when Adam and Eve tried it back in Genesis...IT DIDN'T WORK!! In Jonah’s prayer he acknowledges the fact that even though he was disobedient God still covered him in the storm. When God has a plan for you in your efforts to run away you’ll run right into God… He'll still use you and you will be forced to acknowledge who He is, the power that He has, and His love for you. No matter how difficult the task may seem know that God entrusted you to do something for Him and if He gave you the task He'll give you the provisions to complete it.

GOOD NEWS!!! It’s not too late!! Once you’ve stopped running and surrendered to God (or He's trapped you in a place where your only way out is to acknowledge Him) He’ll instruct you again just as He did Jonah. [Thank you Lord for second, third, and fourth chances] Be ready to move when God says move don’t make Him force you. It's one thing to be in a storm that is of no fault of your own, but to be in a storm that YOU created by being disobedient is a different story.

Moral of the story: LISTEN to God! Don’t run away from Him! Running away is a race you’ll never win; instead, run towards Him. You’ll never cross the finish line running in the wrong direction…everything you accomplish outside of the will of God will not fully satisfy you and it definitely will not please God. Stop trying to please those around you...Live to please God!

#FearlessFAITH