PODCAST
You Can’t Hide from God
June 11th, 2014
Jonah 1:1-16
God’s call to Jonah was clear: “Go to . . . Nineveh and preach” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah should have been proud that God had chosen him. But he resisted God by heading for Tarshish which was at the other end of the world from Nineveh. He knew there is no satisfying alternative to God’s will, yet he went his own way.
Jonah’s efforts “to flee from the LORD” (v. 3b) were futile. While the storm raged, where was Jonah? He was sound asleep. Since he knew he couldn’t hide from God, he was simply ignoring Him. In the fury of the storm, the pagan sailors said prayers. But this preacher, who claimed to worship the Lord, had no prayers to offer.
Chapter 1 ends with Jonah being thrown into the sea. We are left asking ourselves: Which was worse? What Jonah imagined might happen in Nineveh? Or what actually happened on the ship to Tarshish?
- Do I sometimes live as though I am outside the presence of God?
- Am I living now in obedience to God’s known will?
- Do I find it a comfort or a threat to recall that God is aware of everything I do?
Author: Bill Manning
