Are You Running?
“But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.”
- Jonah 1:3
Last week, I focused on the theme of God’s compassion found in the story of Jonah. This week, let’s continue the story but elaborate on Jonah’s disobedience and the lessons we can take away.
When God tells us to do something, it will get done even if we run. God didn’t plead for Jonah to go to Nineveh; He commanded him. No matter how far Jonah was planning to run, God wasn’t going to let him off the hook. His plan was still going to unfold. Likewise, you are a soldier in God’s army. When He tells you to do something, He doesn’t want you to argue back, question His directions, be afraid, or have doubt. Even when you do, though, His plan will still be accomplished, whether you finally choose to submit or run long enough that God chooses to use someone else. How often do you question or doubt God’s commands? What keeps you from submitting the first time?
God disciplines us just like a good father does. He doesn’t let His children get away when disobeying Him. A lot of people don’t like the idea that God disciplines us, but it is a biblical concept! Revelation 3:19 says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
Hebrews 12:7- explains that discipline is a good thing because it legitimizes the relationship we have with God as our Father and us as His children. “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons….For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
When Jonah ran, God disciplined him by creating the storm while he was on the ship. Jonah was then tossed overboard, but in God’s mercy he was swallowed by and preserved inside a fish for three days and nights. God’s merciful discipline is what changed Jonah’s mind. God, once again, commanded him to go to Nineveh. This time he obeyed right away.
God still uses your mistakes for His glory. Even though Jonah disobeyed, God wasn’t going to let an opportunity pass by. After Jonah was thrown overboard and the seas stopped raging, “...the men became extremely afraid of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows” (1:16). Because of Jonah’s missteps, these sailors encountered the undeniable power and truth of God. As a result, they believed in Him.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I have disobeyed God or feel like I was a bad witness, I interpret my actions to be more powerful than God’s redemption. I can see myself in Jonah’s shoes thinking, “Great. Now I’ve left a poor impression of God upon those men. If I’m running from God, why would they ever want to choose to serve Him?” But, Jonah didn’t get to see the outcome of these men’s changed hearts. They witnessed God’s power aside from Jonah’s cowardice and decided to worship Him. Likewise, even if you feel like you’ve failed, you might not see the result of how God redeemed your failure to bring others to know Him.
From this scenario, we also see that our choices and God’s sovereignty work together. I am by no means saying that I or any of us have it figured out. God’s ways are infinitely higher than ours. But from the story of Jonah, we get a glimpse of how perfect God is in all of His ways. This settles me with deep peace and reverence. I want to worship the God of the universe who can know every choice of 7 billion people yet still work all things together and accomplish His plans!
God tests our faithfulness and character. At the end of the story, we see why God intentionally chose Jonah to be the messenger to the Ninevites. He needed a heart-check and character evaluation. Even after the Ninevites repented, Jonah walked away displeased and angry. God tried to reveal his lack of compassion, but Jonah was blinded.
When God asks you to do something, He is testing your faith. Are you going to trust Him? Likewise, He wants to test your heart posture– does it lean inward (selfishly) or outward (selflessly)? Are you willing to see your blind spots or remain blind to them?
Why do we run?
In Jonah’s case, it was due to his lack of compassion. He didn’t want to see his enemies saved.
In my case, I often run from God’s commands because I want control.
Sometimes, I think we unintentionally run when we don’t know if we are hearing from God or not.
Other times, we know it’s God, but it’s not the answer or prompting we want to hear, so we ignore it for as long as we can.
In different cases, we might run because we’re afraid and don’t trust God to come through for us. We focus on our inadequacy instead of God’s competency.
Take a Moment:
I’ve listed a 5-day “challenge” for you this week to apply the message from this devotional.
Day 1: Reflect — Where do you find yourself today? Are you running from something God has said to do? Maybe it’s a sin He wants to help you overcome, or you’re avoiding sharing the gospel with someone, or you keep ignoring opportunities to serve. What reason is holding you back from submitting to God?
Day 2: Pray — Spend time in prayer acknowledging God’s amazing love, grace, and power. Focusing on His character will strengthen you to walk out in faith with what He is telling you to do.
Next, ask God to give you confirmation
Day 3: Read — Spend time reading the Bible today. Sometimes, the clearest way to hear from Him is by simply reading His Word! If you don’t know where to read, start with John 14 (you’ll see why).
Day 4: Worship — Click here to listen to “Catch Me” by Elyssa Smith. The lyrics are about walking out in faith.
Day 5: Act — Today is the day! Take that action to stop running and simply obey what God wants you to do. He is with you.
Obeying God instead of running from Him is what it means to live by faith!
I pray this devotional blesses you and convicts you like it did for me.
-Alina