Jonah 1:1-5 Fleeing God's Presence

"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.' But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. but Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of he ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep."

"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai"

Jonah was God's chosen prophet; His chosen instrument. I picture Jonah in this opening seen cleaning up his small hut, humming a little tune and waiting to hear the word from the God who had spoken in past times to his fathers. Then the word of the Lord came: "Arise, go". These first two words must have excited Jonah to such a point where he dropped what ever was in his hands, fell to his knees, and widened his eyes with expectation for further instruction. The next words he heard were "to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me". Not exactly the instruction Jonah was expecting. I imagine Jonah now, head shaking side to side in disbelief, as he slowly picks up the mess around him and gets to his feet. Why did God want Jonah to go to that great and fearfully violent city? Nineveh just wasn't ideal, it wasn't safe, it wasn't what he had imagine as his great calling in life, or so he thought.

God had a great plan for the Ninevites. He saw all their wickedness and sin, how they were destroying themselves. He wanted to bless Jonah with the privileged of being the mouthpiece His mercy and love.

What does Jonah do next? He flees from the presence of the Lord. Jonah found a ship in Joppa going down to Tarshish, the exact opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah had to pay to get on the ship, but that wasn't going to be the biggest cost.

"But the LORD sent a great wind on he sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea"...

God was stirring up everything around Jonah to get his attention. The mariners were praying to their false god's, throwing cargo overboard, and no doubt thinking they were surely going to die. As the men frantically freak out, Jonah again descends, now into the ship, shuts off his mind and sleeps.

What a great lesson we can learn from these five verses. You are the chosen of God. In John 15:16, Jesus says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

Maybe God has spoken a word to you-maybe you have heard His voice clearly, just as Jonah did. Maybe you are running from His voice, as Jonah did as well. How do you know if you are running from His presence and His command? Are you going down, are you leaving fellowship? Are you finding ways to flee? Are you depressed, descending into a dark way of pessimistic thinking? Do you just want to sleep and forget about the issue you are running from? Do the waves on the sea of your life seem to be in a tempest?

My dear and precious friend, there is hope and there is joy. God is stirring something within you- He is fulfilling the amazing calling on your life. No, it may not look like your flowery dreams. Your initial thoughts may be, "But Lord, not that- I'm scared, it's a violent situation, and I don't want to go". But I want to let you know, dear ones, God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and of great mercy (psalm 103: 8) and desires that not one of His children should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Don't flee from His presence- you will be so down and so depressed. Rather, in faith, step out and obey the word He has given you today.