THOUGHTS ON JONAH 2

Personal Note:  Sorry it's been so long since I last posted!  Our life-direction has been drastically altered over the past 6 weeks, so I have been a little distracted.  We're not sure what God has in store for us next, but we're confident that it will be in line with Jer.29:11 (NAS)!  I will try to be a little more consistent in my postings now.  Thanks!


Part 2: My Little Runaway, Run, Run, Run, Run, Runaway!



Over the years I’ve always thought that Jonah was running from the assignment that God had for him because he knew how fierce the people of Nineveh were, and he feared for his life. However, that’s not what it says in Jonah 1. In verse 3 it says that He was fleeing from the presence of the Lord (NAS). Then in verse 10 Jonah confirms that he was doing that very thing! While it is obvious in chapter 4 that the assignment was PART of the reason he ran, the MAIN thing that he was trying to get away from was God’s PRESENCE!


Now, before we start criticizing Jonah too severely, let’s take an honest look at ourselves. Most of us have probably, at one time or another (some of us more often than others), found ourselves trying to “avoid” any really close contact with God. Not that we don’t want Him in our lives, we just want to keep Him “at arm’s length” for awhile. Why do we do that? Because sometimes His presence makes us uncomfortable; perhaps even a bit fearful!


Well, that puts us in the same category as most of the people in the Bible who suddenly found themselves in His presence or the presence of one of His angels. Why would the angels say, “Fear not,” unless the people they appeared to were manifesting fear or discomfort in some way? It is a very common, normal human reaction to feel some degree of fear (at least some of the time) when we find ourselves in the manifested presence of God, especially when He shows up unexpectedly or presents Himself to us in a new way.


Then WHY does the prospect of being in His presence make us uncomfortable or fearful at times? Usually, it’s because of one of the following reasons:


• Fear of exposure and rejection


• Resistance to change


• Fear of the unknown


I will deal with each of these in the following posts.


Next, Part 2a: Just As I Am