Jonah 1:1-3 - The
LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up and go to the
great city of Nineveh! Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how
wicked its people are." 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 Tarshish. He bought a
ticket and went on board, hoping that by going away to the west he could escape
from the LORD.
Most of us know the story well. Jonah…a young prophet….
decides he is smarter than the God who asked him to go and preach to some of
the worst people in the world. Instead of saying okay. …this is gonna be so
hard ..I will need lots of help….he runs the opposite direction. He endangers
the lives of the crew of the boat he hides in…and ends up getting tossed into the
sea and swallowed up by a great fish for three days.
Jonah was rebellious….but God knew he would come around
given some time to think about his mistake.
So God creates a three day cruise in the belly of a stinky fish
traveling straight towards the city he was asked to go to in the first place.
His time in the belly of that fish was so important that Jesus quoted the story
in Matthew 12:39-40.
It is a reminder to me that I can not…under any
circumstances…..ever….run from the God who created me. If he tells me to do something…bet everything
on the fact that God will get me there somehow.
God allows us to make the wrong choice…then uses our wrong choice to
teach us the lesson we need to understand why he asked us to do it in the first
place.
Running from God only worsens our situation. Remember Adam and Eve…God found them in the
garden even though they hid…and they ended up having to live outside that
beautiful garden and till the ground to exist the rest of their lives. Remember
Jacob…who ran from his brother Esau after tricking him out of his birthright….God
found him and wrestled with him till he accepted the blame for what he had done
and returned to apologize.
I admit…it seems easier to run sometimes…but that is just
satan whispering lies in our ears. Following God is really easier…if we adjust
our attitudes on our own. He tricked me
into believing that a divorce was the best choice….and assure you that is was
not. God is restoring my family slowly…but it will never be exactly the same
again. I can’t ‘what if’ about the past….just
listen to God to how to make amends for my mistake. Once my attitude is focused on what God wants
….instead of what selfish me wants…everything
he asks me to do seems easy.
Father…. Thank you for the reminder that I can never run any
place that you will not find me. Forgive
me for the times I have tried to hide….and thank you for finding me. Thank you for using the mistake I made to
teach me how to be closer to you…and learn how to less selfish. Continue to
show me how I can make amends for what I did by sharing the great things you do
for me when my attitude is focused on you.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment