Running Away

Day 199: Jonah 1-2

The notion of calling has received a great deal of attention recently. What does it mean to be called? Well, we are all called to love God and love people--those are, in fact, the two greatest commandments. After these, we are also called to obey God (which is encompassed in loving him) and to follow his will. However, we want to know how this personally relates to us, how our life is going to end up on an individual basis. What should we major in? What job should we have? What should we do with our life? These questions are ones we ask ourselves so that we can better know God's purpose for our lives. Although we are all called to love God and love people, we want more specific answers.

But what happens when we don't like the answer?

Jonah was given explicit instructions by God to go to Ninevah and preach to them about their wickedness, to condemn them for it. But Jonah didn't want to go. So what does he do? He runs. Yes, he runs from God. He jumps on a ship, gets thrown overboard, and ends up in the belly of a big fish. Here, he reflects on what he has done. He also prays to the Lord and confesses his sins to the Lord. He repents, too, and then the fish spits him out.

The story of Jonah is a familiar one, but what stands out to me now is just how applicable this story is to our own life. Like Jonah, we run from God when he calls us to do something that scares us, that we don't think needs to be done, or that we are resentful about doing. We run and trouble follows us, just like it does with Jonah when a storm comes to his boat. Then, we get into so much trouble that we need saving and along comes something to lead us to reflect, hopefully to pray and talk to God rather than run to him. And then, we are restored. The trouble is, however, that this is often a cycle we get ourselves into. Running and getting caught. Running and getting caught.

But God doesn't want us to run. He needs us. He has plans for each of us, and he can use us to help further the His kingdom. We are here for a purpose, to love people and to show them the way to the cross. Let's all stop running and look to how God can use us. We only have one life to live.