Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

Like Jonah
By Lexi Cole Ellis

“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.”
Jonah 1:3 (NLT, emphasis added)

Poor Jonah. He gets such a bad rap in Sunday School classes and sermons alike. “Don’t run in the opposite direction like Jonah” is often the message. That message isn’t incorrect, but sometimes I wonder if it’s incomplete, allowing us off the hook with: God hasn’t ever audibly told to me to go somewhere. Or…I’ve disobeyed God before and never had a huge fish swallow me up, so I’m set.

But Jonah didn’t just run in the opposite direction. He did it “hoping to escape.” And if I apply that scriptural phrase to something specific in my life, I realize I actually am a lot like Jonah.

If I get specific - - if I dare to ask the Holy Spirit to convict my heart - - I find that “don’t run in the opposite direction” gets a lot more personal when I look at the heart motivation behind trying to escape. Suddenly the lesson becomes: Don’t escape by running away from the crisis God has clearly allowed in your life. Don’t escape and lose faith in God’s bigger picture when a relationship feels unreconcilable. Don’t escape and turn bitter when a struggle feels overwhelming.

My thoughts and actions often reveal a heart attitude that chooses to go in the opposite direction because I want to escape to a solution of my own making. Because escaping to a position of victimhood is easier than stepping up and being intentional in my marriage. And retreating with the claim that something is too hard seems like a great escape rather than acknowledging it is  impossible in my own strength, but in my weakness, God’s strength is showcased. And allowing bitterness to take hold is an easier escape than choosing to express compassion when it’s not deserved…though that’s exactly what our Creator God perfectly demonstrated to me.

Today and every day, we need to realize that it’s not just turning in the opposite direction that is the lesson from Jonah. It’s that his actions revealed a heart motivation of desperately wanting to escape responsibility, God’s calling and God Himself. So the question remains, what are we trying to escape…and what needs to change?

GOING DEEPER:
1.  Take time to really reflect and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you…what are you escaping from?
2.  What one small step needs to happen to make that first change?

FURTHER READING:
Psalm 18:2; Psalm 37:5; Isaiah 26:4

Lexi and her husband, Andrew, have an adorable dog named Calvin and love to travel. Lexi is a sixth grade Reading and Writing teacher. She serves with Children’s Ministries and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.