Running from God

1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. 4 I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.'5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. 7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 

I highlighted 3 things above and each of these are vitally important when we have run from God and find ourselves broken, lonely, and need of his rescue.  I will write them here and briefly comment on them:

    1.  Call to the Lord – The trouble came because he was running from God and not being connected to him, therefore his hope was in calling out to the one who had the power to help and from whom he had run.                                                      

2.     Restore our focus on God – Jonah knew that the worship of God and his glory would heal him, therefore he knows that he will worship again in the temple and praise his God.  Nothing focuses our life more than seeing and seeking God for who he is.                                                                                                                                                                                     

3.     Remember the LORD – As it had all broken down around him, he finally remembered that God alone can give us life, hope, and love.  Jonah, in that moment, remembers how great and good God is and finds comfort in his thoughts of God.  It is usually in "belly of the whale" places where we remember God's goodness.

 We have much to learn from Jonah when we have run from God and what we should do when we are there.  Where do you find yourself today?  Near him or are you on the run?  If you are on the run, then it is time to stop and come back to him as your hope.  Though you might not find yourself in the darkness of a fish, the darkness of our pain can be enough to help us know, that God alone is our hope.  This is my prayer for those of us who are on a boat for “Tarshish” and thinking we can find hope away from the purposes of God.  Let’s come back to him.