God Will Grant You Grace
When we think of Jonah what do we always think about?
The whale, right?
It’s a dramatic story with a very insightful point that we can all learn from.
I promise this is good…just hang with me til the end…
Jonah lived in the kingdom of Israel.
He was a profit during an age when the leadership and many people were pretty bad.
But, God was protecting Israel and demonstrated grace.
Jonah watched God take care of him and his people but when He was called to go to Nineveh, Jonah ran. He did not want to go.
When he tries to flee from the presence of The Lord, He finds himself on a boat and then inside the mouth of a whale.
He could run, but he couldn’t hide.
“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 1:3)
The story of Jonah isn’t really about the whale at all. It’s all about a hardness of heart and avoiding God’s purpose.
Has God ever placed a call on your life that you have run from?
Have you found yourself running from God’s call?
Maybe you are avoiding going to church?
Or you’re struggling with a sin that has a hold on you?
Is God calling on you to speak to someone about Him?
Take a moment to ponder for a few moments…
What are you running from?
I know I have run a time or two for sure.
There were so many times I didn’t have the courage to do what I knew I needed to do.
I didn’t think I was strong enough. I wasn’t important enough.
I ran.
So, for many years, I kept doing what I wanted, what I THOUGHT I was capable of, instead of what I knew I needed to do.
I was miserable. I was unhappy. I was lost.
And just like when we played hide and seek with the kids in the neighborhood back in the day, we could run, but we never stayed hidden.
We were always found or we had to come out.
Jonah couldn’t avoid God, and neither could I.
Neither can you.
God has given each of us a task to pursue while we’re here. He formed you for a purpose.
It’s a purpose no one else can fulfill because no one else can be you.
Only YOU can do what God needs you to do.
And God has grace and mercy for you.
That’s why your heart is still yearning. That’s why your mind is still spinning around and around thinking about what it is you know you need to do.
We can’t run from an omnipresent God. He is always all around us. And He is always ready to help you.
The story of Jonah ultimately turns to us and our unwillingness to live the life God created us for.
When God assigns a mission to you, and you are willing to follow through, He will grant you the grace, tenacity, and courage to complete the assignment.
It’s okay if you are tempted to quit and run away, but I want to encourage you to remind yourself in that moment… when you want to flee, God will equip you with His grace to finish what He has designed and purposed you specifically to achieve.
It’s time to stop hiding, my friend.
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