Choosing To Run: Jonah's Encounter With God's Grace

INTRODUCTION

I will never forget the morning God revealed the pieces of Jonah hiding in my heart. Our family shuffled into church, sat in our usual pew and settled in for the church service and the pastor’s sermon. A few minutes into the service, I flipped open my Bible. It opened with a definite clarity to the book of Jonah. I sensed God nudging my heart to take a closer look at this familiar story, and dipped my right hand into my purse, fishing for a pen. As my fingers rummaged through the darkness of my bag, I felt a pen, and pulled it into the light. Of course! It was a red ink pen. At that moment I knew my Father had something to teach me. Little did I know what spiritual impact would await.

Over the next hour, God spoke to my heart about Jonah, and about my own spiritual rebellion. About the quiet, secret areas of my life that were running the other way, all while I outwardly looked like a spiritual person. A Christian. A Bible-toting mom who loved God. Yet, I was far from Him in so many ways within my heart attitude. I didn’t really want to reach out to some of the people God placed in my path. They just weren’t like me. They lived far away. I was more concerned with my own comfort. I had many details of my life that I preferred to handle, rather than allowing Jesus to be Lord over those areas. God spoke straight to my heart that day, through the story of a wayward prophet.

God has taught me that what happened spiritually within this man of God can happen to us too if we aren’t careful. Even as a Christ follower, we have to choose daily to live by God’s will and follow His lead. If we stray a bit to the left or the right, we let rebellion creep in, only to take the chance of broadening this wrong path into a wide road of sin.

I’m reminded daily how easy it is to lose sight of my Savior, and long for my own way. God is still teaching me about living my life with a pure heart and commitment to Him. It’s an adventure that will last a lifetime. Yet, God is faithful. He continues to guide, direct, and pour out His grace on my life. He wants to do the same for you!

When I think about Jonah, the first thing that comes to mind is the scene of a guy stuck inside a sea creature’s belly. A man running from God. A rebellious soul. Maybe you conjure up similar images in your mind. There’s good reason for this; the overarching story of Jonah includes all these details. But in our journey together throughout his story and this book, we will discover more than a man and a fish. We’ll encounter our all-powerful, all-merciful, all-holy God. The God of second chances.

We can take great comfort in knowing that there is a God who loves us and will give us a second chance when we fall short. I’ve experienced second, third, and many more chances to reconcile my wrongs through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Many times, when stuck in the middle of a troubling, tragic, or terrifying situation, it’s been quite difficult to focus on the fact that God is able to pull me out of my mess. Even if I can’t fathom it, God is there. He has never left me. No matter how many times I’ve seemingly left Him in one way or another.

Thankfully, God is faithful even when we are not. He is able, especially when we are not. He is loving, even when we’re at our unloveliest. And, His grace and mercy cover even our most rebellious moments in our past. Why?

God is more than a fairy tale.

He’s more than an idea we conjure up in our mind.

He’s more than a building, a group, or a method.

The God of all Creation, who cares for us when it seems like no one else does, is truth.

He is faithful.

He is loving.

He is righteous.

And, He is the God of second chances.

As we begin this adventure together, I want to encourage you to jump in to each chapter with both feet. Make yourself at home. Look around, take notes, and identify with the issues. Take time to think through the challenge questions, and read the background passages. Dig deeper into the life principles. Not because this is some kind of homework assignment or a check list that you need to complete, but because God wants to radically change your life.

God wants you to know who He is, and who you are in Him. He wants to take you where you are now, and move you forward spiritually a few steps. We’ll get into a bunch of different issues we face in life. Some topics may hit home, while others might seem more distant. This is ok! Some issues may resonate personally, while some may help you understand the weaknesses and struggles of others.

Are you ready for a wild ride of raw emotions, real issues, and relevant biblical principles? Are you ready to see why God loves you as much when you’re at your worst as when you’re at your best? Let’s discover the God of second chances!

Obedience

part one

RUNNING TO OR FROM GOD?

What makes us change our course? Turn around? Go in the direction we never planned on, because we were more interested in following our own desires than the counsel of God? Friends, the simple answer is self.

A heart going astray begins with a simple choice to turn against what is right in the eyes of God, and veer off to the left just a smidge into the world of self-indulgence or self-righteousness. Getting off course is as simple as choosing the best thing in our eyes over God’s right choice. Whether motivated by our own selfish desires, or the defeat of discouragement, running the wrong way never results in victory. Moving in the wrong direction is always motivated by a heart that has lost sight of God. But we often can’t see the consequences right away.

Rebellious actions accumulate faster than a snowball rolling down a steep slope in the mountains. The beginnings are so insignificant that people would laugh if they heard us call out an urgent plea for help. What damage could a little ball of snow do anyway? Ah, but as the little round puff of frozen water rolls down the slope, gaining speed and collecting snow with each rotation, what began as a tiny problem grows much larger. By the time it hits rock bottom, the little decision that began the journey ends up a massive, unusable chunk of mess that gets in everybody’s way.

Oh, but rebellion sounds like so much fun, doesn’t it? It’s a blast to tell others how we beat the system, made up our own rules, and did it my way. There’s a thrill in taking what we should do, sticking our tongues out at it like a little two-year-old would do, and then stomping away set on finding our own solution to the situation. We can justify, rationalize, excuse, and manipulate the factors of our decision until we’re convinced that our decision was the only logical choice. Thus, rebellion masquerades as logic, and demands acceptance and respect.

Over the truth.

Beyond the facts.

Instead of doing what’s right.

Ignoring God’s wisdom.

Upheaval that begins in the heart of man, as an individual condition, can quickly become a collective adventure. Like a wildfire, one branch lights another, and the flames spread to willing and unwilling candidates. Everything left in its wake is destroyed by the flames; charred and lifeless. If we get too close to the heat, we’ll get burned too.

In the days of Jonah, rebellion was alive and well. It’s nothing new. Self-serving thoughts have been in the heart of man since creation. Just ask Eve. In Part One of our journey we will see the beginning steps of a prophet’s rebellion, as compared to the restoration of a man who had been on the run for way too long. We’ll discover that our trials and choices aren’t much different than any other generation on earth.

Why is this comparison necessary? Because it would be far too easy to conclude that our trials are much worse than anybody else’s, and therefore, our solutions must be accepted. Our faulty thoughts must be tolerated. Our rebellion must be justified. No, friends, God says otherwise. He knows our hearts, our minds, and our willingness to lead ourselves astray in order to try to find strength in our own wisdom. He calls us to a life of obedience.

God loves us enough to give us a choice; to let us choose between His wisdom and our own. His ways or our own path. Obedience or disobedience. Can we comprehend the depth of this love from an all-powerful God who could have created us in perfection, without any desire for our own ways? He gives us the choice to follow, or to turn and walk the other way. At some point, we will fall short. His love and His gift of grace cover this shortfall. In our struggle, He loves. In our repentance, He forgives. In our relationship with Him, He is faithful.

chapter one

THE MAN ON THE RUN

Jonah 1:1–3; Psalm 139

They hadn’t seen their daughter in months. Posters were hung around town. The police kept up the search, scouring the community for leads. The sound of ambulance and police sirens in the distance immediately sent an emotional shock through the parents, as they hoped each blaring note would be the one to alert them that their child was found. Any time they caught a glimpse of a teen girl walking down the street, their minds race in anticipation of possible connections. Friends and family were alerted to look for any clues. Phone calls, emails and internet searches were constant. Yet, the girl was gone. The search continued, but hope was fading.

Over the dozens of nights they’d been looking for her, the last night together reeled through their minds. Concerned parents. Defiant teen. A hazardous mix of emotions. Slamming doors, stomping feet, and wild displays from a rebellious youth. Next thing they knew, she was rushing out the door of the family home, equipped with nothing but a backpack and a cell phone. She was gone. The girl wouldn’t listen to the loving guidance of two authority figures that would do anything to keep her safe. In her mind, her wisdom would get her much farther than the rules and leadership of the ones who raised her.

What remained on the other side of this emotional fence? Nothing but shocked and distraught parents, left without a clue about their baby girl’s location. The scenarios dancing through their minds included everything from fantasy-coated perfect reunions and consoling hugs to tragically depressing police reports. No matter the thoughts, they knew the reality was still a mystery. As with many of us, the loving parents fell into the trap of trying to figure out the why’s and how’s of what had just happened.

Could they have seen her bad choice coming?

Were there clues that she would flee her calling as their daughter?

Would they ever see her again, or was she lost forever?

Hopefully, some day, the family will be complete again, and the daughter will find her way home. Only time will tell if she will turn back.

Such is the face of rebellion.

bubbling from within

The story of this girl and her parents happens often around the world. Her actions are the culmination of emotions and thought patterns motivated by a full-blown rebellious heart. These type scenarios make it easy to spot upheaval, because the outside world recognizes it a mile away. Clearly seen actions always begin in a far more private place and time.

Rebellion rarely shows up on the outside first. It bubbles up from within, eventually showing up in our actions and our interactions. Rebellious thoughts fuel rebellious actions, and those actions always bring consequences. Just like the girl’s rebellious attitude led to her running away, the consequences of her actions were undoubtedly worse than the angst she felt as she stomped out the door of her family home.

Rebellious thoughts fuel rebellious actions, and those actions always bring consequences.

outward display

Jonah, God’s prophet with an uncomfortable calling, was a righteous man called by God to make an impact in his world. God’s guidance was crucial to the success of Jonah’s mission. If he followed obediently, Jonah would do great things to further the spiritual condition of the Ninevites. But, as we find him at the beginning of the Book of Jonah, his mission was almost completely ruined before it could begin.

Jonah’s exterior; his calling and standing in his community, was honorable. Jonah, whose name means dove, became a prophet around 790 B.C. and found himself preaching to the Ninevites about five years later. He was from a region near Nazareth, and was a Galilean, like the apostles of Jesus’ day.

Jonah was from a town called Gath-hepher near Nazareth, making him a Galilean. The Jewish leaders in Jesus’ generation didn’t recognize that fact. John 7:52 records a scene where the leaders made remarks that no prophet had ever come from Galilee.

Among Jewish traditions, some thought that Jonah was the widow of Zarephath’s son who was brought back to life by Elisha, according to 1 Kings 17:8–24. This is speculation. If this were true, imagine the spiritual implications of the life of Jonah. He would