Getting Away from It All

Getting Away from It All

Read Jonah 1:1–2:10

1. The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:
2. “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
3. But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
4. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. . . .
15. Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!
16. The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Jonah 1:1-4, 15-16

People have strong feelings about cities. Some feel loyal to a particular city because that’s their hometown, they have fond memories of a recent visit, or their favorite sports team resides there. Others absolutely detest certain cities because of a sports team rivalry, a bad experience during a recent visit, or a misunderstanding of the people who live there.

Jonah, one of God’s prophets, has strong feelings toward a certain Assyrian city called Nineveh, and for good reason. The Assyrians were Israel’s bitter enemies, and Ninevah stood as the symbol of evil. So when Jonah gets a call from God to go to Ninevah to warn them about God’s judgment, he takes off running—in the opposite direction. But his travel plans end up taking a detour. In this passage, find a lesson about obeying God, no matter what.

Every change for the better begins by giving up the attempt to flee and surrendering to God’s will. We sometimes pull the same stunts as Jonah. Like him, we cannot get away with them forever. Sooner or later God will call us back.

From what responsibilities have you tried to run away? Has God been urging you to reconcile with an enemy, to reach out to someone obnoxious and uncaring, or to help a person who has wronged you in the past? In what ways have you tried to run from God? Stop running, and surrender to the Lord. Go his direction; do his appointed task.