1“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. " 3But Jonah rose 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 on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. ” (NIV)
Jonah was a prophet to Israel under Jeroboam the second. His name means “dove.” He may have lived up to his name when he tried to flee from God, but he was certainly no dove when it came to hoping God would wipe out Nineveh. Jonah prophesied about eight centuries before the time of Christ. The book that bears his name is a painfully transparent view of God’s dealings with a man. We learn from the book of Jonah that our God is a loving, merciful, caring, patient, pursuing God. And when He lays His hand on your life, it’s there for good. You can run, but you can’t hide. You may struggle and rebel, but when you do, God is coming hard after you. How do I relate to Jonah’s experience of running from God in certain areas of my life?
Prayer - Thank You, Father, for all the subtle and not-so-subtle ways You pursue me. Forgive me for all those times I insist on ignoring the evidence of Your pursuit and try to run a different way. Thank You, Lord for the grace You have shown me every time I have stopped running away and started running toward You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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