RUNNING FROM GOD’S WILL
Jonah 1:3a But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
For me the story of Jonah is one of the saddest ones in the Bible at least from the standpoint of Jonah. From the standpoint of the people of Nineveh it is one of my favorites. When the people of Nineveh heard that God was going to destroy them, they believed God and everyone from the king to the animals fasted without food or water so that God might spare them. God saw their repentance and did spare them. Unfortunately the same humility and repentance could not be seen in Jonah. Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to die, every last one of them. Nineveh had been cruel to Israel, and now Jonah resented the idea that God would spare them. Jonah wanted God to show his wrath and not mercy and grace towards them. But God loved the people of Nineveh just as he loved the people of Israel and all his creation. God cared more about showing his mercy and grace to a repentant heart than the power of his wrath.
From the beginning when God called Jonah to preach against Nineveh’s sins Jonah didn’t want to go. Infact he ran in the opposite direction of Nineveh in hopes that God would get someone else to warn them. Jonah didn’t want to warn them, he wanted them dead. But this trip to Nineveh was as much for Jonah as it was for the people of Nineveh. God wasn’t wanting to kill them, but help them change their heart. He got a change of heart from the people of Nineveh, but sad to say not from his own prophet.
While God will always respect our free will he will also work with us to help us to do what is right. For Jonah it meant showing him that his call to Nineveh was real, and that his real problem was not Nineveh but himself. Jonah was a prophet of the Lord, but he didn’t want to obey the Lord. Jonah was struggling to humble himself before the Lord, and do the Lord’s will rather than his own.
The carnal nature that everyone inherits from Adam and Eve’s rebellion towards God is something every Christian needs to die to everyday. When we become a Christian the Holy Spirit sets us free of this rebellious attitude towards God, and puts within us a desire to do God’s will. But because of our free will we like Jonah can pick it back up at any minute. Sad to say all of us no matter how mature we may be from time to time struggle in this area. For some people their struggle with God makes their heart even harder towards him like it did with Jonah. For them there is little even God can do for them, because they will not let God help them. For others that repent and do God’s will it becomes a life and heart changing experience.
If you are finding yourself struggling with God’s will remember that his will is always best for you. God loves loves us more than what we can understand. Pray about it, because sometimes Satan, the powers of darkness, the world and even other Christians can make us think that God is wanting us to do something, but in reality it is he that is trying to keep us from doing it. Paul had this experience as the Holy Spirit didn’t want him to go to the province of Asia. Once we know for sure regarding God’s will and yield to it often peace will once again enter our heart.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your patience and love. Please don't give up on us, but deliver us from our rebellion with your will in our lives. Please let your will always be done in our relationship with you.
