I've been reading in Jonah this morning, and it occurred to me that people try to run from the Lord all the time. They try to escape what He has for their lives. Does this make any sense to any of you? It doesn't to me, considering, how can one hide from the God who made the universe?

We all must be a bit prideful to think that we can hide from the One who sees all.

What arrogance on our part!

The Lord also has shown me that when we are told to do something for Him and we don't, we willfully rebel against the Lord as Jonah did, we put others in jeopardy.

Jonah tried to flee from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3; 1:10). He paid to board a ship to get as far from the Lord as possible...While he was on the ship, a great storm came and threatened everyone on board. You know what? While everyone else was calling out to their (false)gods, Jonah was sleeping below deck as if he had not a care in the world.

 How does that work? His disobedience caused the problem for the rest of the passengers, yet he slept like a baby. He wouldn't even call out to God, and He believed in the One True Living God, or so he said. Why? Because  He knew why this storm was raging and threatening all of their lives. He knew it was his fault, but he didn't care. He pretended as if the storm didn't exist.  He didn't care that his disobedience was putting others through great turmoil and stress.

That is so like the person who is living in willful rebellion against the Lord. They could be living in lala land, pretending that everything is alright. They act as if nothing is wrong when everything around them is crumbling away, and the people that they say they love are getting hurt. They take no responsibility for their actions which caused the catastrophe they're in.

Jonah had finally taken responsibility, after the storm had gotten so bad that it looked like they  would all die, and after the others on the ship confronted him.(better late than never) He told the men that the only way to calm the sea was to throw him overboard, because he was the cause of their troubles. (Jonah 1:12-15)

Interesting...

Jonah disobeys God. Others suffer. He ignores the problem.Then, when he can't take it any more, he finds a quick fix to it. Did his quick fix end the suffering of the people? Yes. They saw that when they through him overboard. God  calmed the sea....they had to give Jonah to the Lord and then they had peace!

 Did the quick fix help Jonah? Well, it wasn't exactly instant. It took him a few days in the belly of the fish to come to the place where God could speak to him.

There are a couple of lessons in this for us....

When there is someone in our lives that is rebelling against the Lord, we must give them into His hands in order to have true peace. If we don't we will suffer, unnecessarily I might add, right along with that person. God wants us to give them to Him so He can work in their lives.

AND

Change isn't always instant. We need to give our loved one/s to the Lord and continually lift them up in prayer that the Lord can do a work in them His way and in HIS time. We need to stay out of the way and let God do what ONLY HE CAN DO!

 

After Jonah was thrown  overboard, the Lord sent a great fish to swallow him up. You see, being in the great fish gave Jonah lots of time to reflect on his actions and attitude toward the Lord, the One in whom he said he feared (Jonah 1:9).He had a chance to be alone and be quiet so that the Lord could speak to him once again.

We need to look at our lives and take account of what is going on in it, evaluate why these things are happening, take responsibility for any part we may have played in getting to this point,  seriously look at the pain and suffering we are causing others by living our lives in this manner, and repent to the Lord.

When we rebel against the Lord, we aren't the only ones being hurt. We hurt those we say we love.

While in the great fish, Jonah became broken. He realized what he was doing, rebelling against the Lord, and he repented to the Lord. He realized that God could've let him die in his rebellion, but He didn't. He saved him from an everlasting separation from Himself. He praised the Lord and acknowledged that his salvation came from the Lord only. Only after he acknowledged his sin and repented of it did the Lord save his life (physically and spiritually).

In conclusion....

Our God...

 is a MIGHTY God!!

is JUST!!

is LONGSUFFERING!!

is FORGIVING!!

is LOVING!!

HE IS A GOD OF SECOND CHANCES!!!!

If you are in the place where Jonah was, in rebellion against the Lord and hurting yourself and those you love, know that the Lord Jesus is calling to you and wants to restore you back to Himself. He loves you and will forgive you of ALL your sins(EVERYTHING you've done wrong) and rebellion. All you need to do is  cry out to Him. Confess that you are a sinner and the things you have done, repent (running away from those things that you have called sin) from those things, and ask Jesus to come into your heart. He is ready, willing, and able to save you! That is why He willingly died a brutal death, on the cross. He did it because He loves you and He wants you to be with Him for eternity in heaven. Jesus is the only way to heaven! Only through Him will you find salvation and true peace.

If you are someone who is feeling the effects of someone you love who is running from the Lord, rest in the Lord. Give your loved one to Him continually and watch what He does. He is faithful! He will reveal Himself in His time.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians4:6-7