3  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.).

Yesterday we looked at some of Jonah’s rebellious responses to God’s will for his life. We mentioned disobedience and defiance. There was more. Like Jonah, some elements of our responses also include hiding and making excuses for our actions.

Right from the beginning of the Bible, we see Adam hiding from God. Genesis 3:8 -10 records, "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Running is going away from God. Hiding is what Adam did, Cain did and Jonah did. It is trying to ignore the problem. Perhaps that is what happened when he fell asleep into a deep sleep. Let’s just pretend that God doesn’t know. I’ll go down into the depths of the ship where no one will know.           

Throughout history and scripture, theologians note that when individuals attempt to hide from God, they are usually trying to hide from His holiness out of fear, shame, and guilt. We may not hide behind trees, but we find other ways to distance ourselves. We immerse ourselves in wealth, status, or possessions, believing they will fulfill us.

Valerie Marie Paper identified six things that distance us from God in a post on prayer by that title. 1. UNCONFESSED SIN - Being afraid of what God may be wanting tyou to face in your life and ignoring His convictions. 2. PRIDE - When we think we should be able to handle things on our own, there is little reason to go to God.  3.  IDOLATRY - Thinking something else will satisfy me more. 4. SELFLESSNESS. It is common for us to be busy with family and work responsibilities because they are good things, but one must examine their hearts in quiet time with the Lord which become less frequent. Do we fear what God might be asking of us? 5. GOOD DEEDS - Do we spend so much time trying to “work out” our own salvation instead of accepting the gift? Do we try to feel worthy of God’s love and acceptance by keeping active in good things? 6. PURPOSE - Ask yourself if God has a purpose for what feels like a wilderness experience. What lessons are important for us to learn?

I’ll add one more - 6. EXCUSES - Might a common ingredient for rebellion be coming up with excuses for our ignoring God. Maybe it is the excuse we don’t have the money, the gift, the time, the resources or the training.           

Application:  What about you? Do you see those traits in your life?

Prayer:   Father, don't let anything get in my way of following You.   Let Your Grace permeate and purify every aspect of my life to launch me into the rest that You so freely offer.   

Dale