For all of you who instantly read the title and wondered if I
was telling you to stop exercising, I promise I’m not. Don’t stop the healthy
gym-time because a blog title said so. Not that any of you would ever need an
excuse to not go to the gym when it’s two degrees outside and the gym is a hike
away. Right?
What I mean by ‘run less’ is that we should stop running
further away from God. Our faith should instead be a constant stride towards
Him.
What
in your life are you running away from? And what are you running towards?
Notable for being swallowed alive because of his stubbornness,
Jonah is forever remembered as the man who ran from God. God told him to go to
Nineveh, a city full of sin, but Jonah disobeyed and sailed as far as he could
from God.
All of us have been a Jonah, sometimes more than we’d like
to admit. However, the further we run, the more we drown.
Why do we do this? A favorite quote of mine from the Doorposts of Your House blog says this is because, “We
can’t do what God is telling us to do. It’s too hard. So we buy our ticket to
run away from God, and as soon as our ship launches, the loving storms of God’s
relentless pursuit descend on us, and everyone on that ship suffers along with
us.”
Jonah thought he could outrun God, but as we know, God has
stronger stamina. God knows what is best for us and He wants us to do His will.
If this is too difficult, we may run.
So what is good about the story of Jonah? Read Jonah 2:1-10.
God answers our prayers even when we disobey and run from
what He calls us to do. Not only did God command the whale to spit Jonah up,
but He continued to provide for him after he spoke to Nineveh.
I know this blog is title says to ‘run less,’ but instead I challenge
you to run towards God. As Francis Chan said, “…when we love God, we naturally run to Him- frequently and zealously.”
Please end in the prayer below or one of your own.
Dear
Father, I know that I have been Jonah and I have run away from Your grace and
purpose. Today I thank You for continuing to seek me even in my disobedience.
Right now, I am choosing to run towards You. I know this will not be easy, but
I desire Your will. Please keep me strong as I continue this journey. Amen.
I was thinking about the times I did this and there seems to be two reasons. Sometimes I am just rebelling -- I want my way not God's way. (it always ends badly when I do this) Other times it was because I didn't believe I could do what God was asking -- maybe fear of failure. In this case, it seem that God had more confidence in me than I had in myself.
ReplyDeleteThis idea of "fear of failure" connects to this week's lesson of hiding less! I think a lot of times we look at the world's view of ourselves and think God views us the same way. What is great about God is that we are not tied down by these titles or defeats.
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