Running in the Opposite Direction

How many times do we know exactly what God wants us to do, and then stubbornly head in the opposite direction? How often do we pursue our "not-very-good plan" by running away from God and from the clear mission He has given us?

We can’t do what God is telling us to do. It’s too hard. So we buy our ticket to run away from God, and as soon as our ship launches, the loving storms of God’s relentless pursuit descend on us, and everyone on that ship suffers along with us.

There are three lessons from the account of Jonah attempting to run away from God:

--You can’t outrun God. It’s futile to try. It’s impossible to outpace his pursuing affection.

--God’s mercy is massive. The storm tells us that God spares no expense in going after those who run away. He reminds us that "Jesus is the storm." His incarnation loudly proclaims that God spares nothing in order to pursue those who run away from Him. Jesus came to free us from enslavement to ourselves and our desires.

--The storm isn't punishment; it’s an intervention, brought on by God’s affection rather than His anger. It’s an act of mercy when God sends the storm into Jonah’s life. God was using it to liberate Jonah from himself.

Submitting self to God is the only real freedom - because the deepest slavery is self-dependence, self-reliance. When you live your life believing that everything (family, finances, relationships, career) depends primarily on you, you’re enslaved to your strengths and weaknesses. You’re trying to be your own savior. Freedom comes when we start trusting in God’s abilities and wisdom instead of our own. Real life begins when we transfer our trust from our own efforts to the efforts of Christ.

Today I’m praying for God’s grace to embrace the mission He has for me, my husband and my family. I’m praying that He will help us remember that it’s not our efforts; it’s His. It all relies on Him, not us. He’s God and we're not. We just need to do what He tells us to do and keep our hearts open to receive his love and guidance.

I don’t want to run, unless I’m running toward Him.