You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide

Jonah 1:1-3 “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.

Late Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in a sermon series on the book of Jonah, by telling the story of famous American Boxer Joe Lewis, who coined the phrase “You can run, but you cannot hide” in reference to an upcoming opponent’s “hit & run” strategy. This phrase fits well with how God will find us wherever we try to hide. When God told the prophet Jonah to rise and go to Nineveh, he was prejudice and did not want the Ninevites to repent, so he flees. But, we have a pursuing God, who goes after us.  As we keep making bad decisions, God stays on message and mission.  

Psalm 139:7-10“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

Jonah is asleep in the bottom of the ship, while the God sent storm rages topside. This part of the story mirrors Jesus being asleep in the bottom of the boat on the sea of Galilee as a life-threatening storm rages topside. Jesus’ peace though comes from being in eh center of God’s Will. In Jonah’s case, the feeling of being at odds with God is exhausting and haunts the conscience. The voice of obedience will ask us to do all kinds of things that we do not want to do, because it may be hard, but peace comes from making God’s will, our will. 

Isaiah 59:1-2“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

What really happens when we run from God is become poorer physically, spiritually mentally and relationally as there are consequences and costs involved in getting back on track. When we ignore our internal compass, then we get numb, lose and become useless. Feeling pain is actually helpful to us. Numbness, as a coping mechanism, is creating damage to others and closing our ears to God.  When we run from god, we wreak havoc and waste precious time and resources.

Jonah betrayed and let down God. What must God feel when we run from Him? Sin separates and  betrayal grieves and disappoints the Lord. Fighting against God doesn’t work well. When we are backed into a corner, consider repentance, not selfish desire. Do not limit yourself to two bad choices. Know that our public sins have e public consequences. Why do we refuse the ‘good” that God has called us to? How many times have we tried to silence God’s voice in our life?  God is still God. What if we decided to say “Yes” God instead? Silence your internal dialogue and say “yes, I will follow you” to the Lord. I will do what you are asking me to do, even if it is difficult and hurts. Don’t run away, but have the courage, strength and heart to run into the opening and loving arms of God with a “yes”.  

You can run, but you cannot hide, so go to Nineveh (or where er the Lord is calling you) to reach the lost and decrease the population of Hell.

In Christ, Brian