How to Not Overcomplicate Your Life: A Study on JonahSample

Day One - Don’t Avoid Nineveh

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)

Nineveh had a TERRIBLE reputation. Imagine the most dangerous place in the world, then up that by like 10. THAT was Nineveh. Jonah gets such a bad rep for running away, but if we think about what he was running from, can we really blame him?

When God calls us to something that scares us or makes us uncomfortable, there are times when, like Jonah, we will do everything we can to avoid it, even if it means going out of our way to run away. Sure, you might not be running from something as major as preaching to an entire city, but you might be avoiding everyday things God has called you to, like starting a conversation with that kid at school, or volunteering at church. Maybe it’s owning up and taking responsibility for a mistake you made.

Avoiding things that scare you might seem like an easy out, but at the end of the day, it makes life anything BUT easy. Theologians noted that Jonah’s decision to go to Tarshish was actually a longer and more costly trip for him than it would have been to just obey God and head straight to Nineveh. Obedience always brings blessings, and disobedience will always bring delays at best and destruction at worst.

To top it off, Jonah’s choice to run away didn’t just affect him — it affected those around him. Our choice to obey or disobey God doesn’t just impact our lives; it impacts others too.

Stepping up and stepping into the calling God has given you won’t always be easy, but if God has called you, He will equip you and go with you. But first, you have to stop putting off what God has put in your hands.

Challenge: What's something God has called you to do that you’ve been putting off or running away from? What step can you take to head toward your calling instead of away from it?