Jonah 1 Following Jesus When You’d Rather Run AwaySample

Rise, Oh Sleeper

Have you ever had a day where you wished you could just crawl in bed, pull the covers over your head, and have the world around you disappear? That’s what happens when we run from God. Jonah ran from God. Then God sent a storm after him, and now everyone around Jonah is freaking out, losing their minds, throwing stuff from the ship. But hold on a minute––where’s Jonah? Sleeping! How can he sleep at a time like this?! Well, because he is exhausted. Running from God is not easy work. God is infinite. He is everywhere, so running from Him really weighs on us, takes a toll on us, and leaves us exhausted. Do you find yourself exhausted or isolated today? Or maybe you’ve put your life on autopilot? You may be running and not even know it.

We run from God thinking that what He is asking of us will be too hard or difficult, when it's actually more difficult to run away from Him. Obedience is always easier than disobedience. Maybe not at first glance; it might not seem like it in the moment of obedience. But however difficult obedience may be, the unending gnaw of disobedience is always more difficult to live with.

• What is it that thing you are running from? Are you tired?
• What are you running away from that God wants you to run into?
• Have you ever been in a situation where the one thing you needed to do was the one thing you didn’t want to do? How did you respond?
• Where are you “rowing hard” to avoid doing the thing God called you to do?