Two weeks ago I wrote about forgiveness.
Then a week ago I wrote about guilt.
Now we’re moving onto yet another convicting topic…
Running away from God (and/or His commands).
This week, similarly to the last two weeks, I’m following along with #SheReadsTruth to record my thoughts on a specific passage of the Bible. This week continues to be a challenging and convicting topic for me to digest and to write about, but in a great way, and for that I am thankful for the #SheSharesTruth linkup.
Let’s get into Jonah (chapters 1 & 2), shall we?
In Jonah 1, God gives Jonah specific instructions. He says:
2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But does Jonah go to Nineveh?! Heck no. He goes as far as he can in the other direction!
Of course, the Lord does not just allow Jonah to flee from him. Oh no, He goes right after Jonah to bring him back to him.
Isn’t that what everyone wants?! A person to pursue us even when we run away? Isn’t that how every good chick flick ends? The woman runs away against her better judgement and the audience gets all sad for the pair and then the man chases her down (usually in an airport or on an airplane) and they embrace and (probably) spend the rest of their lives together.
I believe we all want to be pursued. Not in a creepy way, but by someone who wants us enough to not let us go.
Our lives aren’t like the movies, but God is that “someone” who will never let us go, even though we may try to flee from him, oftentimes against our better judgement.
In my own life, there have been countless times that I have directly turned against God and his Word and what I know he expected from me. I didn’t bother asking Him what he wanted me to do, so I’m not sure whether He spoke to me as directly he spoke to Jonah, but I know that I had the same reaction Jonah did. “Oh God, you want me to do ‘X’? Well, that probably makes a lot of sense, but I’m a sinful human being and I really want ‘Y’ and I think I know what’s best for me so I’m going to go ahead and do that anyway.”
I can admit that I tend to be am a control freak and I do tend to believe that I know what’s best for myself and my life. Let me tell you, when I make my own decisions without consulting God, it never really ends that well. Every time I think I know what I’m doing with my life and that everything is under control, it all somehow gets derailed. But the times when I’ve put my trust in God is when everything has become calm and somehow much, much easier.
It’s a nice feeling knowing that my whole life does not depend on me alone! I have a pretty powerful ally in my corner at all times.
Even when we turn away from God, He stops at nothing to pursue us. Then when we fall on hard times, God hears our prayers and listens to us, delivering us from evil and sometimes, ourselves. Even when we turn from Him, God listens to our cries.
Thank goodness, because I have needed that grace over and over again in my life.
Jonah thought he had everything in control until a storm came and he was cast off the ship. Then the Lord sent a fish to rescue Jonah from the sea. Personally, I’m glad I’m not rescued from my distress by a smelly fish, but sometimes usually my prayers are answered in ways that aren’t exactly ideal or expected, that’s for sure. In Jonah 2, he prays:
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
Turning from God has tended to be followed by some low points of my life, and those are the times that I’ve turned even more from the Lord. I figured that God couldn’t possibly be watching over me if I felt so alone and was in so much mental anguish. I did not see God pursuing me, because I really wasn’t interested in Him. The truth is, I really wasn’t relying on God enough in those times. Sure, I wanted him to fix things for me, but I wasn’t asking what He wanted me to do. I certainly wasn’t praising Him or thanking Him for all of the blessings in my life. I wasn’t acting like Jonah, who realized that God was providing for him and still pursuing him in his time of need, even delivering him from peril.
As my faith matures more and more as each day that passes, I pray that I will never flee from what I know God is telling me to do, and that I can have the self-control and faith to know that God’s will and timing are perfect, and also that listening to Him will always lead to greater things than I could ever plan for myself.
I hope you’re having a wonderful Friday!
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