Are we Jonah?

Sometimes in life it is easy for us to not do what someone asks us to do since we would rather do things in our own way and in our own time and the same is true when it comes to what God asks us to do. Sometimes when God asks us to do something we find it difficult, frustrating, painful, etc and we would much rather continue doing what we are doing and try to do things in our own strength, our own time, our own way, our own routines, etc and run from what God has asked and called us to do. In the first chapter of Jonah, Jonah quickly learns that disobedience to God will cost us and that it’s easier to just obey and trust God than it is to run away from Him and do things on our own.

“What do we do when we begin to believe that the place where God wants us to be the most, is the place where we want to be the least? What do we do when we begin to feel like God has or is calling us to go somewhere where we really don’t want to go or to do something that we don’t want to do?”

Many times I feel like we may not feel like we can relate to Jonah since we don’t feel like we are being called to go somewhere (meaning to another town, state, etc like Jonah was called to do and was running from) but looking at the story, I think everyone can relate to this story. Where is God calling you and is it a place that you really don’t want to be and are you running from it or trying to avoid it?

God may be calling us to rest (“be still and know that I am God”) yet we are wired to be busy and always have something on our mind yet God may just be calling us to rest in his presence and get physical rest… God may be calling us to travel somewhere emotionally by engaging in conversation with someone that is not easy to talk to, to have a difficult conversation with someone, to ask for forgiveness, etc yet God is calling us to do so but we would much rather go the opposite direction and not do what we know God wants us to do… God may be calling us to trust in Him and truly have faith that He will provide what is needed yet we may still be trying to make things happen on our own and as we envision rather than allowing God to work… God may have called us to leave the familiar behind, to change directions, and the list goes on yet we would much rather stay in the familiar and run from His plan and what He wants for us.

“Spiritually, God is calling all of us to be completely dependent on Him -- which, if we are honest, is a difficult place for many of us to be.”

God is calling us all to go somewhere but the question is, are we going to follow Him and trust Him and go where He is calling us and be where He wants us to be or are we going to turn the other way? It may not be easy to go where God wants us to go but it’s the best place to be. It may be scary since we may not know what will happen but things will be better if we are in line with God’s plan and not our plan. We need to take the first step and trust that God will provide and lead us, we need to do our part and then trust that God will take care of the rest and provide and lead us. God’s provision may not be what we expect just as Jonah probably didn’t expect God to allow a fish to swallow him yet he was still kept safe. Even if we are turning from where God wants us to be, God will create a way to get us to be where He wants us to be. There will be storms if we keep running from where God wants us to be and we will find ourselves at a point where we are left with no other option but to surrender and turn back to where God wants us to be and do as He has called and wants us to do and then the storms will calm. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face anymore storms since there will always be storms in our lives, it just means that we will be in line with what God wants and will have peace with any situation, storm, hardship, etc we face.

“Being a deeply devoted follower of Christ means that we go where God calls us -- even when it is the last place we want to be.”

Are we willing to go and be where ever God calls us to go even if it’s the last place that we want to go and be? Are we willing to take the first step and trust God and be in line with His plan for our schedule, our events, and our lives rather than trying to be in line with our plans and desires and are we willing to have complete faith in God in the midst of the unknown? Are we running from God or are we fully embracing what God wants for us individually, as a group, and as Christians?