Arise, Go

Photo Caption: Hermitage Hills

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Jonah 1:2

 (Read Jonah 1)

The Lord called to Jonah and commissioned him with a very specific task - "Go to Nineveh and call out against it.

But Jonah fled, not just from the Lord's calling, but also from the presence of the Lord.

The typical response to an unflattering task is to argue or question God, which leaves me wondering, why did Jonah run?

Perhaps he was more afraid of the people of Nineveh than He was of the Lord - the creator of the land and the sea (v.9).

It is so easy to read Jonah's story and judge his character and acts of rebellion. But when we stop and ask ourselves if we have ever acted in rebellion instead of obedience, fearing people more than the Lord, I'm quite certain we would all answer yes. I know I have - very recently actually. A situation arose where I thought I knew better than God and set out to prove it. I dug my heels in and did exactly what other people wanted me to do - because that seemed easier than disappointing and hurting anyone else. And it was awful. And I was miserable. And, it turns out, I ended up hurting myself and others through my defiance.

Every step of defiance was a step away from the Lord. For weeks I fled. What started as a simple walk quickly escalated into a full on run to escape the Lord and what He was asking me to do. I honestly thought I knew better, and I was on a mission to prove it - to Him and to everybody.

Why was I running so hard and so fast and so far?

Because, just like Rebecca Faires points out, "God is fierce and awesome in His pursuit...God's pursuit is relentless exactly because He is so loving...God wanted Jonah."

I had to run because God's pursuit is relentless - because He is loving and because He wants me. I knew that once I slowed down, God's fierce love would overcome me, and that I would once again have to make a deliberate choice to either follow Him in submission and obedience, or take off running again, fleeing from my Lord. 

But I was getting tired. Attempting to outrun God is exhausting, physically and emotionally. And it is impossible. When Jonah thought he had escaped the presence of the Lord on the boat, he fell into such a deep sleep that not even the "great tempest" (v.12) of the sea could wake him. Running makes us weak. And no matter how fast or how far we go, our Lord continues to relentlessly pursue us with His fierce love for us.

But here's the thing - we cannot outrun God. It is one of His greatest promises to us. Over and over again, throughout God's Word, He promises that He will never leave us. He will always be with us. He will go with us. And in that, we can be strong and courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5-9, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5).

God was with Jonah and wanted Jonah.

God is with me and wants me. 

He is with you and wants you. 

He "gives specific callings to specific people" (Ephesians 2:10, Rebecca Faires). He has placed us in our specific place with specific people with a specific purpose. We may not always understand the what or the why or the where or the when or the who or the how, but we are not meant to understand, we are meant to obey and follow.

When I finally stopped running, I fell to my knees and turned my face back to the Lord. And there was a peace that overwhelmed me when I submitted my own plans and desires to Him and moved in obedience with Him.

Fear makes us irrational. But leaning into the Lord makes everything right. Lean into His strength and His calling. Obey the Lord and trust Him. And know that when you run, He will pursue you with reckless abandon. You are His beloved.