Jonah: A Fishy Tale About a Faithful Godنموونە

Running from God

In the book of Jonah, God calls Jonah, one of his prophets, to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to the Ninevites of their need to repent. Jonah doesn’t want to do so. Why? We are not yet told.

Instead, he flees as far away from Nineveh as possible. Nineveh was located east of Israel. Jonah intends to go to Tarshish, which is located in modern-day Spain and at that time was one of the most westerly places in the known world.

While we are not yet told why Jonah doesn’t want to do this, we see something important here; God sometimes asks us to do hard things. He sometimes asks us to do things we personally do not want to do. Therefore it is worth asking ourselves if there is any way in which we are running from God right now? On top of that, who might be suffering because of our disobedience? Is it the sin issue that is controlling your life that you won’t get help for? Is it a friend who needs to be encouraged or lovingly challenged? Is it a group of people that you have the ability to help? Where might you be running (from God) right now?

Jonah runs and gets on a boat. Because of Jonah and his sin, the entire crew is put at risk. Since we are living in such an individualistic age, we easily forget how much our personal decisions affect those around us. Our sin may be hidden from others, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt others. More than anything else, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God and love others. When we sin, we violate both of those things.

But here is what we also see in Jonah chapter one; suffering often leads to an encounter with God. It’s not a guarantee, of course, but in our suffering, we are more willing than usual to turn to God and ask for help. Because of this, while no one wants to suffer, sometimes suffering can be a gift of God to us. It can help us reorient our hearts and minds on the One we need the most.

After convincing the other sailors to throw him overboard in order to save themselves and the ship, Jonah ends up in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. There, Jonah finally surrenders to God. And while chapter one of Jonah ends with unresolved tension, it isn’t the end of the story.

And so it is with us. We are reminded in this passage that no matter our reasons for going our own way, we are invited by God to stop running. We are invited to surrender. Even if the immediate consequences may be hard to face, God isn’t done and He always responds to repentance with grace.

Today’s reflection

Is there an area in my life where I am running from God? What would it look like for me to repent and trust God with what He has asked me to do?