Joe Louis was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 until he retired in 1949. In 1946 Louis prepared to defend his title against a skilled fighter named Billy Conn. Louis was warned to watch out for Conn’s great speed and his tactic of darting in to attack and then moving quickly out of his opponent’s range. In a famous display of confidence, Louis replied, “He can run, but he can’t hide.” 

One of the most familiar characters of the Old Testament is the prophet Jonah. He was called by God to do a difficult task. He was called to preach a revival in the city of Nineveh. The problem was the Ninevites were a cruel and wicked people; so wicked that God allowed them to be destroyed at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar in 612BC. So, in a moment of self-preservation, Jonah hopped on a boat headed in the opposite direction. He got on a boat headed for Tarshish, which was at the farthest ends of the earth at the time: a place in what is now eastern Spain.  He was trying to get as far away from where the Lord wanted him as possible.

Running from God gets you nowhere – except in deep trouble. You probably recall that Jonah ended up in the bottom of the ship, then the bottom of the sea and finally in the bottom of a fish. But from the stinky darkness of the fish’s belly Jonah called out to the Lord. No longer satisfied with rebellion he turned to the Lord for deliverance. He turned a fish’s belly into a sanctuary of praise and worship.  

Here are three quick truths we learn from Jonah. First, God often uses people in spite of themselves. Our fears of rejection and even our dislike for people who may not be like us often keep us from fulfilling the Lord’s mission. So, we run from Him and try to get as far away from people as possible. When we seem to be at our lowest point, God is able to get our attention and draw us back to Himself. No longer on the run from God we are eager to run to Him and fulfill His purpose for us.

Secondly, reluctance is no match for the Lord’s grace. Jonah had a couple of good reasons for not wanting to go to Nineveh. But his legs could not carry him far enough away from the Lord; his cold heart could not diminish the fire of God’s passion for lost people; his grumbling and complaining could not quench the matchless generosity of Jehovah-jireh (God provides).  God’s mercy, for Nineveh and even for Jonah himself, reminds us that God is patient and offers pardon and forgiveness to those who come to Him with repentant hearts.

Finally, Jonah reminds us that we cannot look at those who are alienated from God as a faceless enemy. He learned a priceless lesson in compassion. He also learned that God often gives warnings as opportunities to change, and even though Jonah didn’t think Nineveh deserved another chance God proved once again to be the God of the second chance.

Are you running from an assignment today? Is God calling you out of your “comfort zone”? Well, you can run, but you can’t hide. God has a deep desire to see people around you – people you know who are mean, cruel, wicked and lost – come to Him in repentance and find life.  He is constantly holding out hope for the hopeless. Today, He could use you to reach someone in Nineveh who needs to repent and find deliverance from bondage to sin. May God give each of us courage to stop running away.

TYMK

Grace & Peace! Mike