Running From God

Scripture Reading: Jonah 1

Focus Verses: Jonah 1:1-3a  "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 

As I mentioned in our devotion last week Jonah disobeyed the Lord before obeying and going to Nineveh.  In fact when God said “arise and go to Nineveh” Jonah actually headed for Tarshish which was in the opposite direction.  

 

Has God ever asked you to do something and you did the opposite?  I know I have.  Jonah could have just stayed where he was, but the Bible says he went in the opposite direction, because he wanted to get away from the presence of the Lord.  When we disobey and sin we don’t like being in the presence of the Lord because it makes us uncomfortable.  Jonah had his reasons why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  But no reason is good enough to make us want to disobey God.  When we disobey God what we are actually saying is “I know what’s better for me than God does.” We all know how Jonah’s plan turned out for him, in the belly of a big fish. 

 

There is something I hear the children in Kenya say quite often. "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.”  If God is good all the time then God knows what is good for us all the time, and He can be trusted.  So when God is asking you to do something, don't run away from Him.  Let’s do what He says gladly.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries