I am Jonah.
I think most people can find themselves relating to Jonah. Jonah was just a person, like you and me. And one day the Lord asked Jonah to get up, leave everything he knew, and go call out the flaws of Nineveh (that’s terrifying). But Jonah ran. Literally got up and ran the complete opposite direction of where God called him to go (but can you blame him??). BUT GOD DIDN’T LEAVE HIM THERE. He pursued Jonah. He sent a storm to stop Jonah from fleeing and then He sent a fish to swallow Jonah. Then Jonah went to Nineveh and did what the Lord asked but Jonah wasn’t happy about going or that the Lord was gracious towards Nineveh when he got there. So Jonah went and pouted. But God still didn’t just leave him there to pout. He continued to pursue Jonah. He talked to him and loved him despite Jonah’s continual disobedience and unhappiness.
I will literally sometimes laugh at the fact that Jonah left his hometown to run in the opposite direction of where God was calling him to go. But then I just think about the things the Lord calls me to sometimes and I ignore it. I may not run away literally but it doesn’t make a difference if I were to run or to ignore it. No matter what it’s putting distance between God and me. Not listening to what He calls me to is just as bad as getting up and running. But you know what is amazing about when I ignore or run from what the Lord asks from me….. He doesn’t say okay.
GOD CONTINUES TO PURSUE ME.
He comes after me. He finds things to turn me back to Him, to lead me to do His will. He continually shows up. Just like He used things like the storm, fish, and plant to continually show Jonah that He shows up and He isn’t leaving him there.
I’ve read Jonah quite a bit. It is probably the book of the bible I have read most because I completely see myself in Jonah. I find myself fleeing and ignoring the Lord way too often. I find myself forgetting that I don’t deserve Gods grace, but it is given to me because of Gods goodness, mercy, and love. I find myself being extremely dramatic and not happy with what the Lord has given me. I find myself more often than I would like to admit being very Jonah like.
Today as I was reading Jonah (because I was feeling like Jonah recently) something stood out to me. Jonah knew who God was and I even believe He truly loved God and wanted to do His will but He got caught up in himself. Like I do so often. Even though Jonah did what the Lord asked he didn’t do it for the right reasons and he wasn’t happy about it.
Sometimes I do what the Lord asks but complain about it the whole way, just like Jonah. WHY do we do that???
I get so used to the Lord pursuing me. I know that He doesn’t leave me where I am at. I can see when the Lord is trying to show me something. I know that He loves me and wants me even when it is hard for me to believe. But the part that is hard is knowing that the Lord is pursuing me, accepting it, and stopping. I have to stop and step aside. I HAVE TO LET GOD WALK IN FRONT OF ME AND LEAD MY LIFE. I have to have faith. I can let God pursue me all day but if I am not allowing Him to walk in front, allowing Him to lead my life than what am I really doing. So why do I complain when doing things the Lord asks or ignore them all together?? It’s because I haven’t stopped to let the Lord lead. I let Him pursue me but actually letting Him lead requires faith and trust, complete faith and trust which is difficult.
I think that was hard for Jonah too. Putting aside all fears, putting aside selfish nature to blindly follow the Lord is hard. It is scary, but what would my life look like if I did it, if daily I truly surrendered moment by moment to what the Lord could do, to where He could lead? What would your life look like?
