Running From God
Jonah Chapter 1
The Book of Jonah is a pretty familiar account of a man who lived at the same time as the minor prophet Amos and shortly after Elijah; around 800 – 750 B.C. Most of us remember the man who spent 3 days in the belly of a “whale.”
Scripture refers to a “great fish” but does not call this fish a whale. Could it have been a whale? Maybe. All we know for sure is that it was big and it was a fish. In any case, three days in its belly would not have been a pleasant cruise across the Mediterranean Sea.
Is this a real account or a story to frighten
believers into obedience? Jesus Christ
knew it as fact and not fiction or allegory. Matthew 12:40-41 “For as Jonah was in the belly of the
great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in
the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The people of Nineveh will rise up against
this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching
of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here-- and you refuse to
repent.” (NLT)
The story of Jonah is our story, each and every one
of us. We have all ran from God only to
find conviction and anguish. The hard
question for us is this, “What will God have to do to get me back onto His
pathway?”
The bottom line is God’s Will verses our will -
Which will you choose?
The larger the task, the quicker and farther we
flee.
God desired to save an entire city, possibly 120.000
or more people in Nineveh; a major task.
Jonah forgot that with God, everything is possible.
Sometimes we run away when God has just one or two
people He wants us to share the Gospel with.
God desires that every person come to know His Son as Savior.
3. Runners make the strangest choices.
Jonah
decided to travel approximately 2500 miles across the Mediterranean Sea instead
of travel 500 miles on land.
You don’t have to travel to run from God. Many Christians today are running from Him
full speed without leaving their home, their life or their pew.
4. Your flight from God will affect you and others.
He placed the crew in danger by bringing his
problems aboard their ship.
He placed the citizens of Nineveh in danger of the
Judgment of God.
He always knows where you are, what you are doing
and what your plans are. God is
all-knowing, all-powerful and always present..
He will send conviction, witnesses and events across
your path trying to give you every opportunity to make the right choice.
God may wait, but you will experience the full
consequences for your actions.
We have all run from God; maybe some of us
are still running today – not ready to stop yet You keep running; trying to get as far away
from God’s will for your life as you can get, using great amounts of physical
and emotional energy running and hiding from God. You
will never succeed.
Running will get you hurt,
faith will bring you peace.
1 Peter 1:2 “God
the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result,
you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood. May you have more
and more of God's special favor and wonderful peace.” (NLT)
You can stop running today simply
by choosing to be obedient to God and asking Jesus to forgive you, restore your hope and
give you peace.
What will God have to do to
get you back onto His pathway?
Are you ready to follow God? Are you tired of the flight and know deep
inside yourself that there must be something better than this?
There is! His name is Jesus Christ and He loves you!
Matthew 11:28 “Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and
carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (NLT)
True rest and peace can be
yours today if you will stop running and start trusting!